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That church shooting
World Net Daily ^ | March 22, 2005 | Joseph Farah

Posted on 03/22/2005 5:39:37 AM PST by Mikey

A man walked into a church in Wisconsin two weeks ago and shot dead seven people before turning the gun on himself.

He fired a total of 22 rounds from a 9 mm handgun.

He wounded four others.

No one knows exactly what set off this nutcase, Terry Ratzmann. It doesn't really matter.

The bloodbath is sure to evoke new cries for gun control in America. No doubt some so-called "Christians" will even embrace this draconian, freedom-destroying solution to random or planned violence in this country.

But let me tell you why this is exactly the wrong prescription.

There were about 50 to 60 people attending the service at the Church of the Living God that day.

All they could do was plead with the murderer to stop. All they could do was pray he would stop.

Ratzmann even dropped a magazine and reloaded another.

If just one other member of that congregation were carrying a gun, lives would have been saved.

And that's the real answer to this kind of murder and mayhem.

Oh, I know, some of you are saying to yourself: "Farah, are you suggesting packing heat at church?"

Yes, I'm advocating it.

I'm advocating that law-abiding people carry firearms wherever they go – especially in places where guns are thought to be unnecessary, especially in schools and other "gun-free zones," especially in the high-crime cities where guns have already been banned.

It's a matter of life and death.

The only person safe in a "gun-free zone" is the criminal, who doesn't care about such rules and regulations.

This time it was a lone nut who shot up a church.

But you might also take note of the news report last week, the warning that al-Qaida operatives are planning to attack "soft targets" in the United States – schools and movie theaters, for example.

Why would terrorists target schools and movie theaters? Because they know the likelihood of receiving return fire is minimal.

I would submit to you that church services are an even likelier target for terrorists who hate Christians.

It has happened before – though not in America as yet.

The date was July 25, 1993. The place was South Africa. The event would become known as the St. James Massacre.

"Grenades were exploding in flashes of light," wrote Charl Van Wyk in his book, "Shooting Back." "Pews shattered under the blasts, sending splinters flying through the air. An automatic assault rifle was being fired and was fast ripping the pews – and whoever, whatever was in its trajectory – to pieces. We were being attacked! Instinctively, I knelt down behind the bench in front of me and pulled out my .38 special snub-nosed revolver, which I always carried with me. I would have felt undressed without it. Many people could not understand why I would carry a firearm into a church service, but I argued that this was a particularly dangerous time in South Africa. …"

Van Wyk did what he had to do. He returned fire. He shot back. And he minimized the death toll, chasing some of the terrorists out of the church before they could empty their automatic weapons into more innocent victims in the congregation.

I would suggest to you that we are living in dangerous times in America, too.

The answer is not disarming.

The answer is arming.

That way, when the next inevitable attack comes – whether it is at a movie theater, a school, a church, a shopping mall, and no matter who the perpetrator is – there will be return fire.

That's called deterrent. That's called civil defense. That's called common sense.

_______________________

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_______________________

Joseph Farah is founder, editor and chief executive officer of WND and a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. He is also the founder of WND Books. In addition to his daily column in WND, he writes a nationally syndicated weekly column available to U.S. newspapers through Creators Syndicate.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: Wisconsin
KEYWORDS: armed; banglist; farah; gunrights; ratzmann; selfdefense
Do you know what really amazing me in this, "the land of the free"? Its that the liberals (and other ignorant people) just can't grasp the fact that the more people are disarmed the worse crime gets. Why can't they see whats happening right in front of their eyes?

Look at Australia. The government went on a gun graping rampage and seized (plus a lot of ignoramuses turned in their guns) millions of privately owned guns, and yet did the crime rate fall?, no just the opposite happened. Yet the liberals (and other ignorant people) in this Country still scream GUN CONTROL.

1 posted on 03/22/2005 5:39:37 AM PST by Mikey
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To: Mikey
Sammy ''The Bull'' Gravano has, by his own admission, sent 19 men to their graves. So it's safe to say that the former underboss of the Gambino crime family knows a thing or two (or 19) about guns and violence.

That's why his recent remarks about gun control, published in Vanity Fair, have resonance.

"Gun Control? It's the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I'm a bad guy, I'm always gonna have a gun. Safety locks? You pull the trigger with a lock on, and I'll pull the trigger. We'll see who wins." -- VANITY FAIR 9/99 page 165 Sammy “the Bull” Gavano

2 posted on 03/22/2005 5:42:19 AM PST by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - They want to die for Islam, and we want to kill them.)
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To: Mikey

Yep, it's pathetic....they want to lighten sentences for criminals and abolish the death penalty for youthful murderers, then take away the means to defend ourselves from these depraved creatures. Dial 911 and die


3 posted on 03/22/2005 5:45:01 AM PST by NRA1995 ("Yew jes' go and lay yore hand on a Pittsburgh Steelers fan & Ah think yer gonna fin'lly understand")
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To: Mikey
The answer is not disarming.
The answer is arming.

This is a difficult concept for some to grasp; it cannot be said to often.
An armed society is a polite society.

4 posted on 03/22/2005 5:45:09 AM PST by MosesKnows
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To: Mikey
This thread has just added to the FreeRepublic "bang list" (firearms interest list) by adding the keyword "banglist".

Any time a firearms-related thread is created on FreeRepublic, please be sure to add the "banglist" keyword to it so that interested FReepers don't miss it.

Let Freedom Ring,

Gun Facts v4.0!

Click the pic to go to the Gun Facts v4.0 download page!

5 posted on 03/22/2005 5:47:27 AM PST by Joe Brower (The Constitution defines Conservatism.)
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To: Mikey

I am armed everywhere I go. That includes Church.


6 posted on 03/22/2005 5:49:20 AM PST by clee1 (We use 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and 2 to pull a trigger. I'm lazy and I'm tired of smiling.)
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To: 2banana
Every time I talk to a liberal about guns I ask 'em these questions;
1). Are there laws against stealing?,
2). Are there laws against rape?,
3). Are there laws against murder?,

They always answer yes. Then I ask them do criminals still commit these crimes? Yes. If there are all these laws against the above actions and criminals still commit them, then what makes you (the liberals) believe they (the criminals) will suddenly start obeying guns laws?

Naturally I get this blank stare, and then they either walk away or continue with their mindless prattle about how gun control will reduce crime bla bla bla.

Talking to a liberal is like talking to the wall.

7 posted on 03/22/2005 5:59:53 AM PST by Mikey (Freedom isn't free, but slavery is.)
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To: clee1

If this shooter only had access to a single shot, bolt action 25ACP handgun, fewer people would have died that day. We have no use for high capacity semi-auto handguns. They are meant for killing humans and have no hunting use whatsoever.(/sarcasm)


8 posted on 03/22/2005 6:02:12 AM PST by umgud
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To: Mikey
If just one other member of that congregation were carrying a gun, lives would have been saved.

It must be the worst kind of death to know death is coming to you, a family member, a loved one, and feel completely helpless to prevent it.
What kind of a sick mind can believe that that is the most "civilized" way to live?

Not that I mind at all, if it were limited to a personal choice. When it is forced upon everyone else due to insanity or any other reason, that anger overtakes me.

9 posted on 03/22/2005 6:05:35 AM PST by Publius6961 (The most abundant things in the universe are ignorance, stupidity and hydrogen)
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To: Mikey
Talking to a liberal is like talking to the wall.

Educating a liberal is like fertilizing a rock.

10 posted on 03/22/2005 6:09:39 AM PST by Publius6961 (The most abundant things in the universe are ignorance, stupidity and hydrogen)
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“Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”
James Madison, The Federalist Papers No. 46 243-244

"I blame the deaths of my parents on those legislators who deny me my right to defend myself"

Dr. Suzanne Gratia

(Referring to the incident at Luby's cafe in Killeen in which a murderer killed her parents in her presence.)
11 posted on 03/22/2005 6:14:54 AM PST by Mikey (Freedom isn't free, but slavery is.)
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To: Publius6961
"Educating a liberal is like fertilizing a rock."

Isn't that the truth?

Like trying to catch fish in the dead sea.

12 posted on 03/22/2005 6:19:26 AM PST by Mikey (Freedom isn't free, but slavery is.)
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To: Mikey

What really gets libs going is telling them I planted a styrofoam cup on earth day to see if it would grow.

I really did.

Separate subject-Legal question. My church meets in a public school. When we are there as tenants, is it a church, where I can carry, or is it a school, where I cannot legally carry?


13 posted on 03/22/2005 6:31:04 AM PST by cyclotic (Cub Scouts-Teach 'em young to be men, and politically incorrect in the process)
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To: 2banana
But the dims are counting on an unarmed populous to be beleaguered by criminals, so they can step in and make the police state they need to further their beloved socialism. Socialism is NOT an economic system, it is a system for people control...
14 posted on 03/22/2005 6:48:40 AM PST by Edgerunner (Proud to be an infidel.)
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To: cyclotic

When we are there as tenants, is it a church, where I can carry, or is it a school, where I cannot legally carry?



If you are carrying with proper concealment, and for the right reasons, you shouldn't even need to ask.


15 posted on 03/22/2005 6:56:19 AM PST by Atlas Sneezed (Your FRiendly FReeper Patent Attorney)
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To: Mikey

"A man walked into a church in Wisconsin two weeks ago and shot dead seven people before turning the gun on himself.

I agree with most of the article but I am sick to death of the above media-perpetuated lie. It was not in a church, it was church-group in a hotel.


16 posted on 03/22/2005 7:07:03 AM PST by L98Fiero
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To: Mikey
“Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”

James Madison, The Federalist Papers No. 46 243-244 "I blame the deaths of my parents on those legislators who deny me my right to defend myself"

Dr. Suzanne Gratia

(Referring to the incident at Luby's cafe in Killeen in which a murderer killed her parents in her presence.)

United States Code, Title 18, US Criminal Code, Section 242;

Deprivation of rights under color of law Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or to different punishments, pains, or penalties, on account of such person being an alien, or by reason of his color, or race, than are prescribed for the punishment of citizens, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both;

and if bodily injury results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both;

and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.

17 posted on 03/22/2005 5:05:47 PM PST by archy (The darkness will come. It will find you,and it will scare you like you've never been scared before.)
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To: archy
The IRS, DOJ, BATF, FBI, all State, County, local police, etc ought to read Title 18, sec 242 as well. In fact, I believe I'll post it all over the place in and around town for all to see.
18 posted on 03/23/2005 6:17:25 AM PST by Mikey (Freedom isn't free, but slavery is.)
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To: Mikey
The IRS, DOJ, BATF, FBI, all State, County, local police, etc ought to read Title 18, sec 242 as well. In fact, I believe I'll post it all over the place in and around town for all to see.

They figure that law, and others, don't apply to them. Won't they be surprised if after a change in the political climate in the next ten, twenty, or even forty years, their violations of such civil rights acts are indeed called to account, just as prosecutions of Klan members 40 years after the fact has now repeatedly taken place.

It can disrupt their complacency for the immediate present. But more is coming, I believe.

19 posted on 03/24/2005 11:53:34 AM PST by archy (The darkness will come. It will find you,and it will scare you like you've never been scared before.)
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