Then why is terrorism committed via other weapons of choice?  We have many issues, conditions, and actions that result in the death of people in this present world.  The statement, “It is not guns that kill people but the person using the gun” is the truth but to say it seems to so infuriate some they become violent.  That alone, reveals that the problem is far deeper than any firearm and is reflective of a human condition that we see to ignore or of which we are ignorant.  NO, I am not calling anyone ignorant but asking, “Are we thinking this thing through clearly and logically?”

Why is it that the incredible number of murders via gun violence in the city of Chicago alone are almost never discussed by the Left?  Someone said, regarding the mass murder in Las Vegas, “It is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history but a normal month in Chicago.”  I do not mean to sound insensitive because what happened in Las Vegas and happens in Chicago and any other city in America is horrific and should cause each of us to seriously ask, ‘WHY?’  What is the reason behind the murders?  Can you transform the human heart by enacting a more restrictive gun law?  Can you transform the human heart by passing a ‘gun ban’ and attempt to confiscate all guns?  The answer is too obvious to even address, yet some would argue that if guns were more difficult to obtain we’d eliminate this type of activity.  They know, in their hearts, that is false but some are so focused on the ‘evil gun’ they are incessant in their cry for the ban of some or all firearms.

If we are going to pass a law that regulates or bans things used in murder and mass murder what will we have left?  Trucks and cars have been used to commit acts of terror and kill people, do we ban automobiles?  Doctors, through negligence and/or error cause the death of people, do we ban doctors?  Airplanes have been used to commit acts of terror, do we ban airplanes?  A friend of mine said, “Some people have been killed during sex, do we ban sex?”  He meant that to be sarcastic and an attempt to use the ridiculous to illustrate the point that the weapon of choice or the instrument of destruction is lesser in importance than the individual using that instrument or weapon.

There are those who promote “Gun Control” and seek a total “Gun Ban” doing so, not out of genuine concern for the safety of people but something quite sinister.  In order to successfully take over America or virtually any other nation, there must first be the disarming of the citizens.  The fact that Americans are well armed has been a deterrent to enemies outside our borders and has resulted in a lower crime rate and lower incidences of gun violence.  In the city of Chicago in June there were 84 murders, 76 in August, and last month there were 59.  I never hear the Left blaming the NRA or calling for Gun Control based on Chicago’s murderous history.  Why?  If we can pass a law that will transform the human heart and bring peace, then let’s ban all firearms not only in America but the world.  Peace on earth will immediately transpire because we passed a Law or Laws, right?  You know that is ludicrous because the evil in the heart of the person disposed to commit acts of violence is unconcerned with the legality of their weapon of choice.  Hatred or the desire for vengeance tends to suspend moral moorings and to them “the law be damned.”  They want their pound of flesh or their misguided retaliation.

Terrorist, criminals, demonic souls, and the mentally unstable who commit acts like Las Vegas want to do as much damage as possible.  The individual in this diabolical act could pass any background check even enhanced checks being promoted by the Left.  To blame the NRA for this act would be no different than blaming the automobile manufacturer for a terrorist driving a truck into a crowd of people.  The problem is the human heart and we have conditioned people to believe they are VICTIMS and with the current eruption of activist violence, often promoted or encouraged by politicians a condition is revealed that was created by us.  Not most of us, but those who educate, engage in mind transformation rhetoric, and seek to divide our nation along many lines are to blame.  The Bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.”  If we take that into the classroom of our schools, some homes, and the incessant rhetoric of the activist and politicians would it not also be true that if we “train up a child to hate, feel victimized, and entitled” will they not also stay with that as they grow older.  One preacher/teacher said, “What we allow in moderation our children will do in excess.”  The idea is that if we instill in the hearts of young minds a certain worldview they will press it far beyond what we may have desired.  If that worldview and view of self is negative and destructive can you not see the incredible damage and destruction possible?

I don’t know what was in the heart of the murder in Las Vegas but I know that the guns he used did not drive him to commit this act.  I don’t know what was in the hearts of any of those who have committed similar acts of terrorism but I know the weapon they used did not compel them to act as they did.  President George Washington said in his 1^st Annual Address to Congress on January 8, 1790, “A free people ought not only to be armed but disciplined…”  I agree totally.  We need discipline and the inalienable right of self-defense must never be infringed.  Thomas Jefferson agreed as did the other Framers and Founders.  Jefferson said, “The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes… Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” – Thomas Jefferson, Commonplace Book (quoting 18th-century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776

We must address the issue but to focus on the implement is a mistake and although it may make us feel warm and fuzzy thinking we are DOING SOMETHING we are DOING NOTHING to address the problem.  We have a mountain of “gun laws” on the books and we need to enforce those laws vigorously and consistently.  We need to teach “gun safety” and address “mental health” but we also must seek to instill in the hearts of our children MORALITY and the VALUE OF HUMAN LIFE.  We must seek to teach them they are NOT VICTIMS or ENTITLED to what someone else has.  We must teach them that LIFE IS NOT FAIR or EQUAL in all things and insist on PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and ACCOUNTABILITY.  We must not only teach that but demonstrate it and insist that Public Officials do as well.  We have drifted from our moral moorings in America and the Gun did not cause that drift, the human condition did.

You may disagree with part or all I have said and insist that we need to “ban guns” believing the gun is the problem.  If so, we disagree and should you and I be together in a situation requiring self-defense, I will use my firearm to protect us both.  I often wonder how the gun control advocates would feel then.  We need to be alert and aware of things that are red flags and causes for concern in behavior.  Too often, too many are willing silent when they should have raised a concern.  Life is precious and my heart breaks for the victims and families in this and every incident.  I am not insensitive to the problem and acknowledge the need to seek real solutions but let’s not focus on the wrong thing.

God bless you and God bless America.