Enough is Enough is Enough – Time to Reinstitute the Assault Weapons Ban

FEBRUARY 15, 2018 BY BEN WITHERINGTON

I don’t know about you, but as a teacher, and after eighteen attacks on school children in less than two months this year, and after the AR-15 assault rifle has been used in some ten school attacks to kill many of our innocent children over the last few years, it is time to say to the gun dealers, to the NRA, and to Congress and to our President—- ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! At a minimum, the lapsed assault weapons ban needs to be reinstituted immediately. These are not hunting rifles, these are not like pistols used for personal protection, they are weapons made specifically for military purposes and should only be in the hands of law enforcement, and the military. Period.

No fair or reasonable interpretation of our ‘Bill of Rights’ could ever find a justification for allowing ordinary citizens to buy these sorts of weapons on the open market—- NONE! The right to a ‘well-ordered militia’ has nothing to do with this at all. Imagine our Founding Fathers saying ‘we think it’s a slippery slope to ban ordinary citizens from owning cannons!!’ Ridiculous.

It is time as well to give up on the mythological arguments like: 1) guns don’t kill people; and 2) the solution to violence in our society is more guns in more hands! Neither of these propositions can stand close scrutiny, especially in a society full of mentally ill and fearful and violent people who nevertheless can still get their hands on such weapons. Take a look at what happened in Australia when more strict gun laws went into effect. Gun violence went down dramatically, and stayed there. All of the usual arguments against better gun control laws are bogus. They are excuses, and I would urge the responsible gun owners and NRA members in our country to be the first to stand up for an assault weapons ban, and while we are at it, against the legal purchase of gun clips and gun stocks that allow multiple rounds to be fired continuously.

I am calling on my own Senators, Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell to stop their silence on this issue and do something about it. They should introduce legislation during this current session of Congress to deal with this issue. Enough is enough is enough.
It is one of the most telltale signs of the state of the soul of a society in regard to what it allows to happen to the most vulnerable members of that society— our children, the elderly, the infirm. I was taught a long time ago that my rights end where someone else’s life begins. And if one’s stand on guns is complicit in allowing the murder of our children, then something is terribly wrong, and we need to sacrifice a supposed right, for the sake of the life of others. After all, life is the most basic commodity in everything. Without human life, we cannot even talk about human rights. Protecting life is far more fundamental than protecting the rights of the living. Enough is enough.

Read more at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/bibleandculture/2018/02/15/enough-enough-enough-time-reinstitute-assault-weapons-ban/#F6P0zdFQ9T4FKQRw.99

SKILLS TO HELP FIGHT ONLINE BIGOTS & HATERS

·      THE AUSTRALIAN ·      NOVEMBER 24, 2015 12:00AM

SKILLS TO HELP FIGHT  ONLINE BIGOTS & HATERS Children as young as 11 are being taught skills to identify and ­respond to online racism as a growing number of extremists take advantage of social media to promote messages of hate. The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission runs Click Against Hate in more than 60 schools across Victoria for ­students in Years 5 to 10. “(The internet is) an ideal ­vehicle for those who want to disseminate hatred, bigoted rants, lies, bullying, conspiracy theories and even calls for violence, and thus provides a mask to individual users to unburden themselves anonymously,” chairman Dvir Abramovich said. “Now, every extremist has a platform and a megaphone through websites, Facebook or YouTube. Young adults are therefore more vulnerable than ever.” Dr Abramovich said anti-Semitism, Islamphobia, homophobia, misogyny and other cultural and racial prejudices were on the rise because there was an epidemic of internet hate which was easily ­accessible by students of all ages. He said the children were often exposed when there were no adults present and so young ­people must be prepared to stand up for each other. He said while schools had good intentions of combating racism and prejudice, it often wasn’t their top priority, or they didn’t have the resources to ensure that anti-bias and diversity education were an integral part of the school curriculum. “Cyber hate and extremist views migrate and are translated into conduct in the schoolyard ­because such material incites against minorities, and because students tend to verbalise and act out the racist views they absorb online on real-world victims,” Dr Abramovich said. “Hate material creates anger and occasionally promotes violent acts against people of other races and religions.” In southeast Melbourne, Stonnington Primary School Year 6 student Isabella said racism was a major problem that affected a lot of people but often seemed to be overlooked. She said that while she didn’t think it was very common for children her age to be affected by racism she thought they might come across it when they reached high school and became more ­active on social media. Fellow student Erin said she had witnessed online racism a few times, especially after the Paris ­terrorist attacks. “I feel like online bullying can be more common because you can hide behind a screen and don’t have to face people or suffer consequences,” she said. For more information about Click against Hate click here Our mailing address is: B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission 306 Hawthorn Rd Caulfield South, Vic 3162 Australia Add us to your address book 03 9272 5677 Website   Facebook    YouTube   Email