Tell them why!!!

[CoachR64]

Watching the assault weapons ban press conference and a common comment being thrown out is tell the victims family's why anyone needs these weapons! I'll tell them why. The answer is pretty simple. The criminals that committed those heinous acts have those weapons. We can't fight heavily armed criminals with rocks and sticks. Philly chief of police just said our citizens have to face these weapons daily, yet he wants us to not have the means to defend against them.
And yes, the obvious answer of to defend against tyranny as well. But it seems simple to me. Police officers arm themselves with weapons they feel are needed to combat the threats that exist today. Those threats are the same threats we face, so why should we not be allowed the same weapons?
I don't share this that often, but I am a victim of gun violence. I was in a gun free zone where people were even patted down and checked for firearms. Someone still got that firearm in. Gun was pulled in a confrontation and I (unintended target, bystander) took the only bullet fired. Gun free zones do not work. Criminals don't care. This thug had that gun because he knew the man with the gun in a gun free zone had all the power. I have every right to be angry. I have every right to hate guns. But I also know the gun didnt do this to me. I know that had that had this not been a gun free zone and that coward felt he would be shot back at in return, he would have never drawn his gun. A gun didn't change my life, a thug coward criminal did and I refuse to see innocents punished for his crime.
I am also a teacher. I teacher because I am passionate about loving, protecting, and helping kids. Creating a gun free zone around our kids puts them in much greater danger than they should ever be exposed to. I agree with others that sandy hook is a wake up call. Unfortunately, we have evil people that are using it to push an evil agenda instead of focusing on real and meaningful solutions, such as mental health care reform and arming our teachers.

 

[grizzly97]

Well said!

 

[toehanus]

Watching the assault weapons ban press conference and a common comment being thrown out is tell the victims family's why anyone needs these weapons! I'll tell them why. The answer is pretty simple. The criminals that committed those heinous acts have those weapons. We can't fight heavily armed criminals with rocks and sticks. Philly chief of police just said our citizens have to face these weapons daily, yet he wants us to not have the means to defend against them.
And yes, the obvious answer of to defend against tyranny as well. But it seems simple to me. Police officers arm themselves with weapons they feel are needed to combat the threats that exist today. Those threats are the same threats we face, so why should we not be allowed the same weapons?
I don't share this that often, but I am a victim of gun violence. I was in a gun free zone where people were even patted down and checked for firearms. Someone still got that firearm in. Gun was pulled in a confrontation and I (unintended target, bystander) took the only bullet fired. Gun free zones do not work. Criminals don't care. This thug had that gun because he knew the man with the gun in a gun free zone had all the power. I have every right to be angry. I have every right to hate guns. But I also know the gun didnt do this to me. I know that had that had this not been a gun free zone and that coward felt he would be shot back at in return, he would have never drawn his gun. A gun didn't change my life, a thug coward criminal did and I refuse to see innocents punished for his crime.
I am also a teacher. I teacher because I am passionate about loving, protecting, and helping kids. Creating a gun free zone around our kids puts them in much greater danger than they should ever be exposed to. I agree with others that sandy hook is a wake up call. Unfortunately, we have evil people that are using it to push an evil agenda instead of focusing on real and meaningful solutions, such as mental health care reform and arming our teachers.

You need to be in front of a news camera. You should also work up what happened to you and your thoughts about it for an opinion piece for one of the local rags. If you would be willing to do this I am sure there are many people here who would be willing to help (myself included). Just a thought

@toehanus

 

[808racer]

Very well said. It has nothing to do with what we NEED.

 

[CoachR64]

I have no problem writing an opinion piece and distributing it to papers. I'll just need to type it at a real comp as my big hands and small iPad keyboard don't make for a great pairing!

 

[dutchwrangler]

I only own 'arms'. I'm going to ignore these bans as they don't apply to the 'arms' mentioned in the Second Amendment, which is all I own.

They'll come to my door, knock and ask if I own 'firearms and assault weapons'. And I'll reply with "No. I own 'arms' as described in the Second Amendment." Of course they'll arrest me because they're incapable of comprehending the difference. So be it. I'm not giving in to their definition of my defensive tools. I'll need a good lawyer of course. Any volunteers?

 

[ignerntbend]

You've got a plan, Dutch.
A man without a plan is not a man.

 

[CoachR64]

Rough draft of my letter I just typed up:

Dear Editor;

After seeing the numerous victims and families of victims of gun violence being paraded across the screen on many news outlets in recent weeks, I decided I need to tell my story. You see, I too am a victim of gun violence.
Almost 5 years ago, I was at a night club/concert venue during a show. The venue was a gun free zone with off duty officers checking patrons at the door. Despite the rules and regulations, one young man was able to sneak a firearm into the venue. At one point in the night, a confrontation broke out and this thug decided to pull his firearm. He dropped the cheap little pistol and it went off. I took the bullet. The bullet entered my body by my right hip and traveled up and across my back and spine until it stopped somewhere near my left kidney. I am very fortunate that no vital organs, bones, nerves, vessels, etc… were hit. To this day, I still carry around that piece of metal in my back. I still experience pain from where that bullet tore through the muscles in my back.
I have every right to be angry. I have every right to hate guns. For a long time, loud noises going off behind me would cause an adrenaline dump that got my heart pumping. This experience changed my life. So, why am I not being paraded on television to tell my story with other victim of gun violence? The answer is because my story has a different ending.
I refuse to blame an inanimate object for what happened to me. I refuse to support the removal of rights of law-abiding citizens because I was the victim of some low-life thug who didn’t follow the law. No rules or regulations stopped him. He didn’t care. He chose to bring that gun into a gun free zone because he was a coward, knowing that having the only gun in the establishment gave him all the power. I firmly believe that had this venue not been a gun free zone, the gun he had would have never came into play. He pulled his firearm because he had no fear of others shooting back. Like the cowardly criminals who participated in the recent mass shootings, he wasn’t looking for a fight. He was looking for victims.
As a victim of gun violence, I refuse to allow the fact that some criminal changed my life through his heinous act tread on the freedoms and liberties of the citizens of this country. The problem here was not the gun. It for sure wasn’t the assault weapons some of our legislators are going after now. The problem was that this coward felt no fear or hesitation in pulling his gun as he knew there would not be anyone to stop him in the gun free zone. The law abiding citizens obeyed and had no way to protect themselves from this criminal.
I am also a teacher. I teach because I am passionate about loving, helping, protecting, and mentoring kids. By creating these gun free zones around our children, we are putting them at great risk. I agree that Sandy Hook was a wakeup call. Unfortunately, many of our law makers are turning it into a nightmare for Americans by putting the blame on inanimate objects versus looking at the real issues such as mental health reform and allowing trained teachers the means to protect the students in their care.
This is my story. Unfortunately, many news outlets and politicians have no use for my story as it does not fit their agenda. We cannot demonize inanimate objects and punish the citizens for the actions of a few criminals who refuse to follow any new laws we pass.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Reynolds

 

[gsarg]

The question of "need" is irrelevant when discussing "Rights"

 

[toehanus]

I like it. One suggestion. This was discussed in another thread. I would avoid using the phrase "gun violence". If we're going to talk about the subject we need to talk about it using the correct terms. Good job.

I applaud you for your dedication as a teacher. I taught for 8 years. Just couldn't deal with it anymore.

@toehanus