great letter.... now if only the liberals were as open-minded as they claim.
Responsible gun ownership
Roger E. Weddle
Weddle lives in Roanoke.
Dan Casey, in his column "Getting permit was the easy part" (Aug. 30), demonstrated the main difference between conservatives and liberals in American society. Unsurprisingly, Casey takes a dim view of our liberty to bear arms in this country, one of the first rights granted in our Constitution.
There is a reason for the bipartisan support for the law that does not require the type of restrictions Casey desires. Maybe it is because it is not needed. Individuals who decide to exercise their right to carry a firearm, concealed or not, have a responsibility to be familiar with the firearm.
With any right there is responsibility, whether it is the right to bear arms, freedom of speech or, dare I say, freedom of the press. Freedom of speech does not allow one to shout "fire" in a movie theater when there is no fire. Freedom of the press does not allow libel. The right to assemble does not permit violent demonstration. There is a certain level of responsibility with each of our rights.
In the liberal world, it is up to the government to protect us from ourselves and to make up laws where there is no problem. This is a common theme with liberalism. Its adherents create crises where none exist then legislate and regulate to promote an agenda.
Our country is suffering the consequences of this tactic, which is used by the current presidential administration. These consequences will reach far into the future.
Of course, Casey's article had a dual purpose. Not only did he bemoan our constitutional right, but he also sought to smear Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican attorney general candidate, who received a $1,000 campaign donation from Concealed Carry Institute owner Roger Marcus.
It was not until the end of the column that Casey mentioned that Democratic candidate Steve Shannon also voted for the bill.
Under this type of reasoning, should we be concerned about Shannon's campaign contributions from Freedom Bail Bonding of Fairfax ($2,500) and Virginia AFL-CIO ($25,000) or the $6,500 Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ "American Dream Fund" from New York, an organization that has donated a total of $44,973 exclusively to Democratic candidates?
Why not do some real investigative journalism and give us examples where some of the 203,132 Virginians who hold permits to carry are shooting themselves in the foot or committing crimes? Show us areas in the country where concealed carry permits have been instituted and thereafter had an increase in the crime rate.
Stop complaining about our rights and our liberties. If Casey doesn't feel competent in carrying a concealed handgun, then he shouldn't. To do so would be stupid.
I'm sure there are plenty of criminals carrying handguns who have plenty of experience and knowledge in gun safety. I hope this is some comfort to Casey.
What they aren't open minded?:hand5:great letter.... now if only the liberals were as open-minded as they claim.
This best decribes my family :embarassed:you are a hate-filled, right wing, reactionary, knuckle dragging, Neanderthal.
Does that mean that someone on this Forum, who claims to hate Liberals & Libertarians, is actually a Liberal.Liberals define open mindedness as everyone agreeing with them.
Sure. It just seems to be fairly uncommon.It IS possible for a Liberal to be a card-carrying NRA member and a gun-rights advocate, isn't it?
Liberals are very opened minded as long as you follow their mandates...great letter.... now if only the liberals were as open-minded as they claim.
Absolutely.It IS possible for a Liberal to be a card-carrying NRA member and a gun-rights advocate, isn't it?
But you forgot a key point regarding liberals. Once they deem you the aforementioned right-wing neanderthal, you are no longer worthy of the tolerance they demand from you. Since you are now sub-human, they are free to denigrate you, figuratively spit on you, slander you, call you any vile name in the book, beat you down at a town hall meeting and then bite your finger off...all guilt-free.Liberals define open mindedness as everyone agreeing with them. If you do not agree with them, you are a hate-filled, right wing, reactionary, knuckle dragging, Neanderthal.
Is it possible to be all that and still find candidates to vote for who agree with it? Nobody has been able to definitively answer that for me. Just seems you would have to, at some point, compromise the RTKABA to vote for some folks. I'm not trying to lump Dem's and liberals into the same pile. We have some Conservative Dem's in NC, and I know there are some out west. Just seems hard to find. Dem and RTKABA seems to be able to coexist but not sure about liberal and RTKABA. I tend to see a big disconnect between people who carry the liberal label and politicians who carry it.It IS possible for a Liberal to be a card-carrying NRA member and a gun-rights advocate, isn't it?
Deleted...off topic.Just wondering, because I'm definitely a Liberal . . .
Gee, who could that be? It only oozes from every third sentence. Sort of like my disdain for elected autocrats. Yeah, well. It's liberally applied, at least. :tongue:Does that mean that someone on this Forum, who claims to hate Liberals & Libertarians, is actually a Liberal.