Do ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ Do Any Good in the Face of Tragedy?

Relevant Magazine ^ | 05/25/2022 | Tyler Huckabee

[Boogieman]

“There is nothing that prayer can’t change.”

So if you pray for your enemies to die a violent death, you think prayer can accomplish that?

What about praying for time to spin backwards so that some mistake you made never happened?

How about praying for God to not fulfill some prophecy that you dislike? Think that’s going to work?

“Nobody controls God. He is sovereign. Nobody can tell Him what to do.”

This is just another way of saying what I was saying. Praying for things that prayer can’t change is futile. What are those things? Well, they are mainly things that God is not going to change His mind about, for various reasons that aren’t too difficult, I think, to understand.

[NorthStarOkie]

You Stated: “We don’t need more “Common sense laws and statutes”- We have mountains of “common sense gun laws” that have been enacted already— What we We need is just some common sense- period-”
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Spot On!
Let’s converse with a politician who has been in office for, say, 30, maybe 40, years and who advocates/supports “common sense” gun laws.
“How many gun laws have you voted for over the years?
Let’s imagine he says, “I voted for 100.”
“Now you are admitting that none of them were ‘common sense.’ If you had no ‘common sense’ then, why should I believe you have ‘common sense’ now?”
- - - - -

[Bob434]

and ask them “Since you believe none of the 20,000 gun laws already o n the books are common sense ones, then shouldn’t we do away with them altogether?”

[TangledUpInBlue]

I can’t disagree with any of that. And I’m not an expert on the laws you cite. Except to say, they clearly aren’t working. And doing nothing, or more of the same, clearly isn’t working.

We need to try something new. I’m not sure arming teachers is a good idea. Even if we assume we can adequately train one to handle a firearm quickly and efficiently in the face of a stressful situation, are we to expect them to incapacitate/kill another human? Is that what we want teachers to do?

I don’t know what I can suggest at the moment. And yes, I’m fully aware that cases like this, and their sensational nature make the danger amplified. I’m fully aware that more hand guns kill people than assault rifles. But the latter make it easier, faster and more efficient. That’s what they’re designed to do.

So yes, something has to change. I’m a hunter. I have shot guns and rifles (Win. 220 bolt action) but I don’t need any type of AR-15. I’d willing support a ban on weapons of that type with the exception that if you own one - you may use it at an official shooting range where the weapon must remain under lock and key. My brother owns an AR-15. He target shoots with it. There is little else legal he can do with it. So isn’t that maybe a step at least worth considering?

We could restrict the sale of Ammunition for certain weapons. We could ban the sale of tactical gear. Purchases of that stuff just may be a red flag. Who needs that stuff in the public domain?

I understand the 2A. And I do support liberty. But I also realize that the 2A was written when there was no national army. When a citizen militia could conceivably overthrow the government if it became tyrannical. But in these times, it seems fruitless no? What good will my AR-15 or shotgun do against a Bradley AFV or a team of highly trained soldiers with professional weapons, tactics, armaments?

Now, I’m not a Commie! I don’t belong on DU. I’ve been here a long time. So let’s not call each other names. (I’m not saying you did) But if we, as like minded people to some degree, can’t discuss this issue among us, how can we convince anyone else?

Something has got to give. Are Americans more homicidal than any other society in the world? Are our children more warped by Social Media/Covid/Movies/Video Games than other kids in the world? Are schools in Italy, Germany, Spain, Mexico etc...all staffed with armed guards every day?

Or is it that our gun access plays a role here? What do you think?

[Bob434]

[[Or is it that our gun access plays a role here? What do you think?]]

An armed society is a far more police society than one where the bad guys are armed (As they will always have access to illegal guns- you can never stop that) while the good guys are forbidden from owning

[[But in these times, it seems fruitless no?]]

No it is not fruitless- protection against rogue government is not the only reason for the 2nd a- it is for protection against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic- The sheer amount of violent criminals in this country means we citizens have a right to be armed and prepared to defend ourselves from them-

The buffalo shooter was red flagged- and authorities failed to stop him-

[[I’m fully aware that more hand guns kill people than assault rifles. But the latter make it easier, faster and more efficient.]]

No they don’t- it’s just as fast with a hand gun- hand guns have just as large magazines as rifles do-

The answer Is in protecting the schools- not in disarming law abiding citizens, nor in restricting them- the whole purpose of the 2nd a is to protect against armed bad guys, and when they are armed to the teeth, you need adequate means to defend yourself- they will always have guns with large capacity magazines- remember, they are criminals and do not care about laws- they can get the stuff illegally- while the law abiding citizen will be severely restricted and in harms way because they refuse to break the law like the criminals do-

if you are a hunter, then you know that an AR-15 is no different, and no less deadly than other hunting rifles- that are semi-automatic- many states now restrict the amount of ammo the magazines can hold- but that doesn’t stop the bad guys- and only endangers to the good guys who have to face the bad guys with their superior equipment

[[My brother owns an AR-15. He target shoots with it. There is little else legal he can do with it.]]

What do you mean there is little else? He can hunt with it too=-

[[I’d willing support a ban on weapons of that type with the exception that if you own one - you may use it at an official shooting range where the weapon must remain under lock and key.]]

So you are willing to severely limit law abiding citizens knowing full well that criminals will still have access to such guns illegally? Sorry- but that is how liberals think- the AR-15 is no more dangerous than any other semi automatic gun-

Again- an armed society is a polite society- there woudl be far far less mass shootings IF the maggots knew they woudl be killed in seconds if they started opening fire inside schools- they wouldn’t even attempt it unless they were really mentally ill or had a suicide wish, and there is nothing that can be done to prevent those people from doing what they will unless you secure your school and harden it against intrusion by bad guys-

IF you do that we wouldn’t even be having this discussion because the problem would be almost nearly completely solved, and the rare shootings woudl be much more rare-

[skinny old man]

Yes families of victims need thoughts and prayers.
we all do.

Our Families all need hugs and open affection all the time.
Not teaching subjects to deep for young innocent minds.
Locking down at home or being forced to wear masks that do not protect them from viruses.

[skinny old man]

Last of all,we don’t need Clintons’ telling us what to do.

How many people are on their lists.

[Bob434]

here- go to the 7:14 minute mark of the video to hear the lieutenant governor discuss the issue of AR-14’s- they are no more dangerous than other semi’s and certainly they are not weapons of war- He makes it very very clear why we need to be armed as a society and not restricted- using the same arguments i have basically-

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/4066165/posts