TexasCHLforum.com

I have found out over the years that when engaging a person about this issue, most of the time it becomes a battle of elementary perceptions and ideas based primarily on an emotional level of understanding the issue...

I personally dislike it, when I get drawn into a philisophical discussion on the basics, and after laying out some good, solid information, I am percieved as being condensending or arrogant from my point of view...And thus, I sometimes avoid those discussions, even when I feel they want to talk about it...

So in my opinion it is right when the NRA and other "Pro" organizations promote education about firearms, their use and the laws that protect and restrict the right to keep and bear arms...

And anything the Anti crowd can muster and promote to keep the public "dumb" about the issue benifits them...

And to me its not even first and foremost about the actual safe handling and operation of a firearm...That would almost be the last thing I would ever want to promote to someone whom has never touched or fired a weapon before in their life...It would be prefereable to teach the history behind the laws and the culture that promotes the freedoms won and sacrificed for, and the means to difinitively defend those victories and sacrifices...And promotes an appreciation for the innatimate objects that can be used for both good and evil...And that the good, needs to be protected by everyone...And not just by a few that can't be everywhere at anytime...

Dirnit...I did it again...

BLAAAHHHH...

Mr. Nolan (author/journalist) response to an email sent in by another poster...

"Thanks for the note and the guidance. I'm going to correct the 40 mm mistake."

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(my response, to the response )

I almost think this is the best response you could hope for in this case...

I would also go out on a limb and propose that in future incidences like this that get posted here and in other forums, that if you have the mechanism to write into a reporter like this that we ask outright what their position is on the issue...Example...

"Are you, or are you not, a supporter of an individuals right to keep and bear arms, as in accordance with the 2nd Amendment contained in the Bill of Rights and supported by the U.S. Constitution, also within individual States Constitution's, along with the U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's recent opinion, that it "is" an individual right to keep and bear arms?"

"This question is posted to you, to clarify, and better understand your position on this issue, so that we, as readers, know the general context and purpose for your editorializing certain passages within the stories you write."

"Your prompt and kind response is most appreciated...Thank you..."

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Just something I think goes a long way to getting to the bottom of things...

I Know its not a "Texas" incident...But it raises some interesting concepts...

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Sa ... 1783428357

I wrote this response in another forum, to hopefully put some things in perspective...

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Now before we dump on the reporter...


Other than the obvious technical errors made in the report...And the poorly written (poor sentence structure and other continuity problems) story as a whole...This incident really falls into the same old "we-see-how-poorly-armed-citizens-are-portrayed-in-the-media" hype once again...

I don't think we'll ever break that persona...Whether its true or not in all situations...

The more I actually read between the lines, what does help me see what really may have happened becomes clear, so I apply that evaluation to my life and move on...

Regardless of how poor the story is portrayed, you have to ask yourself the following questions...

What was a 14 year old kid doing out at 11:30pm at night, riding his bike, carrying a rifle (unloaded or not, for any amount of time) before someone was supposed to come along and say something about this activity??? He was still within a few blocks of his home, and no neighbors observed any of this activity before the actual shooting??? Must be a real hole of a neighborhood...

Did the defender live in that neighborhood??? Was he licensed to carry a firearm under the laws of his state??? etc etc...

I know for a fact, that there are at least a dozen participants on this website alone, that could take the facts of the incident and write a better story than this Mr. Nolan...And we could have included many fair and balanced information regarding the rights of individuals to defend themselves in your state of record instead of filling out the demonizing template and negative presentation of these incidences to support an anti-gun agenda...

The real tragedy is the fact that there was no discipline or parental instruction to cause the child to pause and think about what could very well happen when you go out in your neighborhood with a rifle "juiced up to look more menacing" and hop on your bike late at night to harass other people...

You could get shot if your intentions were to do just that...

And he did...

But we'll never hear the full story, as usual...

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The other participants int this discussion had some pretty good points as well...

http://www.packing.org/talk/thread.jsp/40474/