courtesy dailybeast.com and Reuters

Does Jesus Want Gun-Toting Christians?

Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition . . .

“If you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one,” Jesus once told his disciples. Also Jesus: “all who draw the sword will die by the sword” and “turn the other cheek.” These words exemplify the very different portraits of Jesus that Christians have when it comes to issues like gun control, gun rights, and self-defense.

Is it ethical to defend oneself or one’s family? Does Jesus want his people to be packing?

By the numbers only, most Christians support stricter gun control laws. According to a national tracking poll of Americans from Morning Consult—following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida—approximately 62 percent of all Christians “strongly,” or “somewhat,” support “stricter gun control laws in the United States,” while 33 percent do not.

courtesy Business Insider

The Marines are buying their new rifles at half price after lawmakers threw a tantrum over the original cost

If I throw a tantrum, will HK sell me that VP9 I’ve been wanting at half price, too? . . .

Little more than a month after lawmakers threw a temper tantrum about the cost of each M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, the Marine Corps has announced it is buying the rifles at a much lower cost per weapon.

In total, the Marine Corps plans to buy 15,000 IARs for $29.4 million from Heckler and Koch over the next five years, Marine Corps Systems Command announced on Friday. Of those weapons, the first 5,660 will cost about $1,300 per weapon.

During a March House Armed Services Committee hearing, lawmakers claimed that the M27 would cost about $3,000 per rifle, or roughly four times the $642 per weapon price tag for the M4 carbine, which the IAR is replacing.

Woman found with gun during strip search pleads guilty

Deep concealment . . .

Anika Witt, 20, of Ozark, pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon by a felon and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. According to a prosecutor’s statement read in court in September, Witt was stopped Sept. 7 for speeding on Interstate 55 near Chenoa.

A search of the vehicle turned up heroin in her bra and ecstasy, said the statement.

After Witt was taken to the jail, a female correctional officer found a loaded Kimber .380-caliber handgun inside Witt’s body, said the prosecutor.

Parkland teen David Hogg attends the White House Correspondent’s dinner with fellow gun violence survivor and reveals they got six congressmen to sign ‘no NRA money’ pledge

We have no doubt David will make an ideal “journalist” by today’s standards . . .

Hogg has become one of the leading voices for gun control and a constant media presence since a shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida in February.

Personalities such as Democratic Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan and former Obama Ethics czar and CNN commentator Norm Eisen posed for pictures with the young activist.

‘We are counting on the next generation to lead us all—like David Hogg,’ Eisen wrote on Twitter.

Hogg has said he wants to be a journalist, and the Daily Beast’s editor in chief John Avlon said he was ‘delighted’ to have him as the publication’s guest at the event.

courtesy 1011now.com

Gun Amnesty Day the ‘most successful’ ever for LPD

Thank goodness those hunting rifles and side-by-sides have been taken off the streets . . .

The purpose of the event was to remove unwanted and /or illegal firearms, multi burst trigger activators such as ‘bump stocks’ and ammunition from circulation.

Citizens were able to drop off firearms and ammunition with no questions asked.

The results of the effort produced the following results:
– 76 guns were turned in, including rifles and handguns
– Over 70,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibers were surrendered
– Several containers of gunpowder were turned in for destruction

As gun deaths continue to rise in America, social scientists wonder why so many feel the need to carry firearms

What, no mention of penis size? . . .

For some social scientists, questions surrounding such incidents aren’t aimed at the Second Amendment. Rather, researchers want to understand why people, men in particular, feel a need to pack a firearm.

A sense of masculinity is a factor, leading to backlashes against gun control proposals, according to Jennifer Carlson, a University of Arizona sociologist.

“As they practiced shooting their firearms, they imagined scenarios in which women and children might need their help,” she has written of her research subjects. “A man with a rifle in a schoolyard full of kids; a woman being raped in an alley; an armed robber targeting a diner waitress.”

Alyssa Milano to Lead Protest at NRA Convention

We’ll see her there . . .

Alyssa Milano is calling fellow activists to join her in Dallas, Texas, May 5 to protest Vice President Mike Pence and the NRA Annual Meetings.

The protest itself is one of the first orders of business for the newly launched #NoRA, the “No Rifle Association initiative.” #NoRA tweeted.

courtesy bbcnewslabs.co.uk

GUN CONTROL: Could more guns make our streets safer?

We stopped taking advice from Brits about how to run our society over 240 years ago . . .

Each mass shooting prompts vocal and passionate calls for stricter gun control, with advocates for the right to bear arms reiterating their claims that existing regulations are sufficient and that guns actually serve to protect those in danger. Where do you stand?

Crossing Divides is a season from BBC News, hearing from people around the world who are bridging divided communities. In this experience, you’ll play a person having a difficult conversation. At the end, we’ll give you feedback on how it went.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

70 COMMENTS

  1. To quote another website (gunfreezone) his morning “I will listen to the pope when he disbands all his security and sells the pope mobile”

      • Yeah… Endorsement by papists has a negative effect on me. Not that the Ecumenical Patriarch is any champion of RKBA though…

    • Who are the guys with crowns, weird dresses, and empty rifles? Moonies? Some Catholic thing? Something else?

    • Yeah, don’t forget the Paramilitarized Security inside Vatican City…And the Swiss Guard…And Problably many other Armed EU Euro-Trash Government STASI…..

  2. Oink oink oink. I’m so sick of hearing the Hogg name. He wasn’t even in the same building when the horror started. Someone please glue his lips shut.

    • Just need to make it a point of asking during interviews… How did it feel when you heard the rifle crack?

      • He says he was at the school during the shooting and went home with the other kids. He said he rode back to school later that day just to do interviews.

        • The story keeps changing. So far I have heard:

          1) He was at the school but in a different building from the shooting.

          2) He was not at the school but went to the school just after the shooting.

          3) Was at the school, but not in the building where Cruz was shooting (so his claim of being a survivor is tenuous at best), left the school, and then returned.

  3. “Over 70,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibers were surrendered”
    Geez. 3/4 of my ammo gone in one fell swoop.
    Oh wait. I read 700,000 rounds. OK. I’m still safe.

      • Perhaps the pope should be interviewed on how the decision of “The Council of Avignon” is working out for the Catholic Church?

        During the time the papacy resided in Avignon there was a discussion about should priests be allowed to marry. After much debate it was decided that married clergy had “divided loyalties” but fornicators, pedarists, adulterers, and sodomites would only have one loyalty. The church. We are still experiencing the consequences of the decision of this council.

  5. There are other pictures of Hogg at the Correspondents Dinner. In exactly 0 that I’ve seen, well in fact in no picture that I’ve ever seen, does the young Master Hogg ever look remotely happy. He’s always scowling.

    What’s up with that? Severe RBS?

    • “What’s up with that? Severe RBS?”

      Terminal stick-up-his-ass syndrome.

      (Preferably a punji stick infected with all kinds of vile crap.)

      I’m a bit bummed. I did not see *that* coming on ‘Fear The Walking Dead’.

      But fuckwit ‘getting the horns’ did make me feel good.

      (And further proof you can’t trust kids. *Especially* the cute young ones…)

  6. Why do I feel the need to own a gun? Because I understand no one gives a good God damn about me or my safety except ME. Not my neighbors, not the police, not the government, and CERTAINLY not any of these tide pods eaters or pearl clutching soccer moms who want to disarm me. So f@$# them

  7. So who are all the Kings in pink dresses, holding various black rifles? Neither story actually says the context of the photo, implying “just another day at church, always be carrying, yo!” I dunno, I carried at church today, concealed, but no guys in pink dresses and crowns were involved. I know the Pope’s Swiss guards have crazy suits, but this appears to be different. And they don’t look Korean enough to be that one story with the blessing of the ARs that made people want to cancel school meetings nearby. But maybe that is the photo, I guess the press assumes Christians with guns means that motley crew, NRA means racist KKK people, gun lover means duck Commander rednecks.

    Either way, king number two should remove that Ruger barrel logo, he looks like he never actually shot his gun!

    • Those are the Moonies. It’s very debatable to consider them Christian….

      I’m guessing that poll only counted Catholics, as they’re liberal and tend to support gun control. Baptists/Evangelicals on the other hand, not so much.

      • Every American Catholic that I know is against gun control. I am Catholic and I say f*** the gun grabbers. I do not like the Pope (I will show his position respect, but not the man). On the flip side, most Baptists I know are either for gun control, or partial gun control. but that could just be where i live

        • I agree with you. All the other Catholics I know either own guns or support the Second. Raised in the Church and with guns in the home.

      • The article was just on would Jesus support having guns, and should Christians support gun control, which of course the author of it would think they should. The picture choice with no context or description implies Christians and gun owners, two favorite progressive punching bags, are lunatics. Which would be by design.

        Christianity includes a pretty wide variety of practices, beliefs, groups, political affiliations or those who don’t believe you should be political. Most progressives even play the church card when running for election, so they can get votes. “I am a Christian, but….”, it goes well with their professed second amendment support “I support the Second Amendment, I am proudly an NRA F grade, but…”

        Anyway, I would suggest a muddy girl color scheme to match the robes for the next photo op. I don’t think my beliefs would line up well with the Moonies, but as a Second Amendment supporter, if that is what they like to do, then go for it. I am cool with the guns, I just don’t like the outfits!

  8. Jesus would totally be the guy telling you to hold his beer at the range and ‘watch this’.

    I didn’t know they could stuff that much dork in a pair of tuxedos.

    As gun deaths continue to decline in the USA, social scientists wonder how they can convince more Americans that their beloved government can’t/won’t protect them.

    Alyssa Milano is Debbie Wasserman-Schultz in slightly more attractive packaging.

    • No, I’m all for requiring mental evaluations before getting permission to carry a firearm; especially if one gets those evals from most mental health “professionals” that already see a person that wants to carry a firearm for self-defense as being mentally ill.

  9. Ms. Milano looked hot in her youth Not so much now as a harpy shrew….yes JESUS wants me armed. Those so-called Christian’s need to hang out at my church. What kind of simpleton just turns in their guns and ammo without financial remuneration?!?😩

    • Because it’s an “amnesty,” which implies that having the guns is illegal, and they are being kind in letting you turn them in without prosecuting you.
      As opposed to a “buy back,” which implies that they are legal for you to own, but they want you to let them “buy” them back from you, even though they didn’t sell them to you in the first place.
      Both are an indication of just how ill-informed the people really are. As well as just how ill-informed the elite expect us to be.

    • GunTalk’s advice: If you can’t sell a gun (because its crap) and don’t want the gun (because its crap), then go to a buy-back and let the cops give you money for it. Use that money to buy something useful…. like more ammo or an optic or something.

  10. the Sermon on the Mount is, often, mis-interpreted;
    the “turn the other cheek” admonition is to other Christians not to their declared enemies;
    the Vulgate translation does a better job;
    re: the Ltn words: hostis and inimicus;
    “hostis” is a declared public enemy;
    “inimicus” is a private enemy like, for instance, a neighbour that you have a minor dispute with;
    you are under no moral obligation to “love” a “hostis” ;

    • While we are talking about Lamanites and Nephites…From Alma 43:
      45 Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.
      46 And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.
      47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion

    • But the greek, which the vulgate comes from, makes no such distinction, at least as far as I am aware. Likewise, it is said, “pray for those who persecute you”, so that would seem to imply more than just a private adversary within the Church.

      I heard the turn the other cheek concept came from the fact that a Roman soldier could strike a non-citizen twice without any real cause, thus the idea being that you turned the other cheek and received the second strike. But, that context also implies that there are limits. You are not just sitting back and letting someone beat you to death.

      “Turn the other cheek” means that we should be long suffering, even with declared enemies, but that doesn’t mean you have to take anything and everything. Some, like the martyrs, decided to not fight back, as that was, in that time and place, a better testimony for the gospel, but that is a whole other issue.

      We should love our enemies, but also God and our fellow believers. And sometimes, that means that the best and most loving thing, when you take everyone into consideration, is to defend ourselves.

  11. Nehemiah 4 New International Version (NIV)
    Opposition to the Rebuilding

    4 [a]When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”

    3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!”

    4 Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of[b] the builders.

    6 So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.

    7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. 8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. 9 But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

    10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”

    11 Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”

    12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”

    13 Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. 14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

    15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.

    16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

    19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!”

    21 So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. 22 At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.” 23 Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.[c]

    • Thanks for quoting Nehemiah! I’ve just been reading it recently in my daily devotions. I also noticed the swords, spears, defensive ability etc.

      I would also toss out a friendly recommendation of a more literal Bible translation. I grew up using the NIV, but feel that it paraphrases more than is ideal. Not to be a jerk, but I think the NASB, ESV, NKJV, KJV are generally better translations.

      • The Bible only mentions spears and bows. At the time it was written, Nehemiah could never have imagined fully automatic high clipacity assault weapons. Christian and Jewish gun owners are wrong. A concerned atheist gun grabber told me so.

        • Oh… I think they had an understanding of weapons that went way beyond spears, bows and even automatic firearms with high capacity magazines.

          2 Corinthians 10:4 “for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”

  12. Those are some confused Christians. Keep in mind that even the devil takes the Bible out of context to justify his evil.
    Jesus said to turn the other cheek – not taken out of context. Hard to justify buying another gun or spending money on the gun hobby on Christian grounds but it also does not say “thou shall not have a rifle” in the Bible.

    • It may not mention rifles or even muskets, but hand grenades are clearly present in the Book of Armaments, Chapter 4, verses 16~21:

      “And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, “O Lord, bless this thy hand grenade, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy. First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it.”

  13. Charlene vs Akinjide…

    On any form of mass transit, about the last thing I usually want is a conversation with someone I’m forced to be in close proximity with. Regardless of who is carrying what, what their gender or skin color is, or anything else, it’s another human in my personal space. I don’t want to be friends, I don’t want to know why you’re making this trip, or tell you why I am. I just want to be left in peace.

    The one forcing an unwanted, and unavoidable, conversation is being rude.

  14. At least the Pope’s motive is transparent: Before guns the Vatican had obsense political clout. Now it’s just a bunch of pedophiles and a nutty Argentinian.

    As for Christianty and guns, I’m with Browning on this one: “And it came to pass that we again began to establish the kingdom and we again began to possess the land in peace. And I caused that there should be weapons of war made of every kind, that thereby I might have weapons for my people against the time the Lamanites should come up again to war against my people.”

  15. “Do we really want peace? Then let’s ban all weapons so we don’t have to live in fear of war.” What does he plan to do, clear the land of all rocks and trees? Humans have been waging war against each since before we knew how to make tools from rocks and sticks. Hell, chimpanzees wage war against other tribes for territory and food.

    • This pope sounds like he is 5 years old or senile. Will ban of all weapons make them magically disappear? Who will enforce it and how?
      Were there no wars before invention of firearms?

  16. Not polling the folks at my church…
    Take California as an example of what happens to an unarmed populace.
    They are about to ban the Bible.
    Keep Clinging to God and Guns Patriots!

  17. I hope Akron elects someone besides Tim Ryan this year.

    I wonder if Alyssa Milano regrets playing the daughter in Commando. In the event that her kid was kidnapped by a crazy Latin-American dictator, she’d probably just sit back and “let the police handle it” (since she’s rich and famous, they might actually recover the body at some point).

    • At the end when Bennett says, “I don’t need the gun! I don’t need the girl! I’ll kill you!”, he subsequently loses to an opponent who was physically stronger and better skilled with an edged weapon. Matrix (who was hiding at the time) was scared of Bennett when he had a gun, because a gun put them on an equal playing field. Arnold tricked Bennett to give up his gun and Bennett became inferior in the fight where physical size was the determining factor. Bennett realized, too late, that a gun was the only thing that could even the playing field between him and a physically superior opponent. But, by the time he was able to get his hands on a gun, Arnold, using his superior physical strength, threw a pipe through Bennett’s torso, thus “letting off steam”. The message is clear: “Yes. You do need the gun Bennett…. against Arnold frigging Schwarzenegger you absolutely need a gun!” Guns also help you kill hundreds of screaming Latin American toy soldiers who want to cut your daughter’s throat like warm butter.

  18. Don’t know what Christians they’ve been polling, but I know several, and not one would advocate gun control in any form. Of course, they are Evangelicals and not Papist Romans or others of that legalistic ilk.

    • My experience is people will believe what they want to believe. Amongst the Christians I know, the divided opinions are split down world view lines. Christians (Baptists, Catholitcs, Evangelicals, Protestants, etc) are just as diverse as the societies they live in. Liberal Christians will have differnet views than Conservative Christians. American Christians will see things different than French Christians. San Francisco Christians are not Dallas Christians. A homless Christian has a different view of the world than a millionaire Christian. You can’t lump massive groups of people in to one block of uniformity. The same goes in the other direction: you can’t call someone un-Christian because they don’t agree with your world view. That shit’s between them and Jesus.

  19. “..researchers want to understand why people, men in particular, feel a need to pack a firearm”

    I am tired of this question because they never listen to the answer. I carry because a firearm is the best possible tool to have in the worst possible situation. I carry for the same reason that I have fire extinguishers. For the same reason I have a tool to cut my seatbelt and break the glass. And a whole host of related tools and reasons.

    Now you have your answer, write it down and piss off already. Ask me again and I will be forced to say rude things about the manner of your birth and your parentage.

  21. “The Daily Beast” would be a “Safe Space” for David Hogg. No Comments section available.

  22. The Christians polled were most likely from coastal cities. I don’t know any who believe that punishing the law abiding makes the lawless less dangerous.

  23. …”By the numbers only, most Christians support stricter gun control laws.” …
    I submit that most of the “Christians” represented by that number do not even put full faith in The Resurrection, making them, rather, CINOs. I would go out on a limb and suggest that this label (CINO) covers the vast majority of Methodists, Presbyterians, non-African Episcopalians, ELCA Lutherans and other “old mainstream” protestants as well as now most Catholics.

    I can state for certain that the church I attend is made up of believers in the full Biblical version of the life of the Christ and are happy to allow its congregation to carry anywhere and never makes judgement on its members as to right or wrong pertaining to self-protection/self-preservation. I also submit that Jesus Himself did not ask any governmental agency or representative to force one to live as a Christian- It is up to each of us as a believer to act accordingly.

    Christianity is the ultimate in personal responsibility in that it does not demand or require another human being to place ultimate final judgement on “non-believers”… Judgement comes only, and directly, from The Creator.

  24. “During a March House Armed Services Committee hearing, lawmakers claimed that the M27 would cost about $3,000 per rifle, or roughly four times the $642 per weapon price tag for the M4 carbine, which the IAR is replacing.”

    IIRC, the M27 is being sold as a system, with optics and accessories ready to go, while the M4 Carbine as priced as a bare rifle. Not a good comparison.

    “teen David Hogg attends the White House Correspondent’s dinner with fellow gun violence survivor and reveals they got six congressmen to sign ‘no NRA money’ pledge”

    How many of those have an NRA ‘F’ rating and never have, or expect to be offered campaign money from the organization? I’m guessing “six.”

    So Hogg wants to be a journalist. Has anyone explained to him that “Activism” and “Journalism” are supposed to be inherently incompatible?

    • “So Hogg wants to be a journalist. Has anyone explained to him that “Activism” and “Journalism” are supposed to be inherently incompatible?”

      At least the colleges/universities he applied to seem to get it.

  25. No, Biblical Jesus does not want us to need to have weapons that maim, injure or kill. Sale your cloak and take up a sword, the sword is faith not a weapon that destroys.,. whatever floats your boat, Christianity is not based on violence, it’s a religion of peace. Men have used religion as a bases for War. This saddens me to see Jesus brought into advocating violence

  26. The pope may not be as comfortable with English, so how about some Latin?

    Si vis pacem, para bellum

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