I would love to meet you in person, if for no other reason than to watch you swallow your “redneck” stereotype whole. Now that *would* be amusing.
As for being amused at other people’s misery, I believe it falls quite far short of the Golden Rule, and is not merely a matter of being a poor Catholic.
And that’s what confuses me. You say you agree with the Pope’s words, but it was he who brought up protection of life as the core principle of our Republic, and the right to self defense and defense of others is no more than a logical extension of that right to life. Common law, rooted both in canon law and Scripture, acknowledges the use of proportional force for defense of self and others. That does not necessarily require the use of bullets, but it does grant the possibility. Jesus allowed the disciples two swords, not enough to create the appearance of a threat of aggression, but just enough to mount a meaningful defense in a pinch.
So if you really believe what the Pope said, why is it so hard for you to acknowledge your God-given duty to help protect your neighbor?
“If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small. Deliver those who are drawn toward death, And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?”
~King Solomon (Proverbs 24:10-12)