Assult Rifles, the Florida Senate, and Prayer
Saturday, the Florida state Senate did three things in “rapid” succession - they voted down an assault weapons ban, they gave a 17 second long moment of silence to the students that lost their lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and then they voted down a measure to make teachers arming themselves optional.
Thoughts and Prayers - Check
State Senator Kelli Stargel said a ban could lead to a slippery slope - “Would fertilizer, used in the 1995 bombing of an Oklahoma City federal building, be banned? Or pressure cookers, used in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings?”
But, we DO track large purchases of chemical fertilizers, now don’t we? We DO track previous bomb threats of people - in part that’s got a whole Task Force assigned to it. People say it’s a slippery slope, but here’s the deal - we don’t let our citizens buy the Abrams tank, or F-16′s or Predator drones, we don’t even let them buy grenades or tear gas.
Why? Because those have been banned. But WHY? Why would you ban those things, if they are just tools?
Or how about the other side of the coin - the law idea - if we ban guns for law-abiding citizens, then only criminals would have them.
IF that argument holds any kind of validity then it’s an argument for no laws at all. If only law-abiding citizens follow then, and criminals don’t, then why have any laws, period...not just gun laws, but laws on everything from jaywalking to genocide?
Back to the Senate in Florida, “Thoughts and prayers are really the only thing that’s going to stop the evil from within the individual that is taking up their arms to do this type of massacre,” Stargel said.
People pray every day, we pray for everything from winning the lottery to getting the girl to like us, getting that promotion at work, people who are sick, people who need help. The fact is that prayer is a good thing. Aside from all the religious arguments, prayer makes the brain release a minor level of endorphins, feels good if you let it drugs, makes you want to do more good in the world.
Prayer alone isn’t enough, thoughts should lead to action, not inaction.
Kelli Stargel is given an A+ rating by the NRA, according to https://votesmart.org/interest-group/1225/rating/5578#.Wpvw3OjwaUM where you can also check out a whole list of other FL politicians and their ratings, so please do.
While you’re at it, let’s do something else.
Let’s ask a question, if everyone that reads this hopes and prays for Marco Rubio and Kelli Stargel run over by a truck that’s carrying a load of NRA sponsored assault rifles to be sold at a gun show - and it Happens, then could we all be charged with accessory to vehicular manslaughter? No.
If thoughts and prayers are so supremely effective, as Stargel says, then why not?
