Church, A Gun, Lesbians, and Death: How Is This Not The Biggest News Story in the Mainstream NEWS?

So if I were asked what elements being included in a news narrative would be so tantalizing that no American news director would (out of reflex) not run with, I would include guns, young attractive lesbians and some very accessible form of Christianity, maybe even include a popular sport figure. And yet this past week has had exactly that but without the sports figure; in a beyond the pale scenario a lesbian's funeral was abruptly terminated by a pastor due to a slide show that dared to include a picture of the dead woman proposing to her wife (whom she had 2 children with) making the tragedy of the 33 year old Vanessa Collier's death while cleaning her hand gun or possible suicide, that much more tragic.

So what theological critique would this pastor have with a family of 2 female parents to 2 female children, self-evident that this family was if not loving certainly monogamous and stable with the purpose of raising children? If it is Biblical critique based on Leviticus then  does this pastor also want to ban pork and shell fish? If the criticism is based on the epistles to the Romans, then is the pastor also against passing judgement (which is far more enumerated by St. Paul than the tacit admonishment giving to the practice of same sex flings) on a same-sex couple, clearly not since judgement was passed when the pastor decided to throw the funeral out of the church like they were money changers.

Again I am at a loss on why this isn't the scandal de jour, I understand the Parisian terrorist attacks are far more urgent but no telegenic grieving lesbian widow who owns guns?!?

 

Yet Another School Shooting: Gun Rights Advocates Share Blame For Permissive Gun Culture

About once a week mass shootings have been occurring across the country, but only our country because every other developed nation on the planet has solved this issue limiting access to firearms. The gun rights advocates claim some sort twisted divine right to always be able to be violent and have efficient implements to do so. I characterize it as 'twisted' because why would G-d grant a right to destroy G-d's own creation to  G-d's individual's creation?

There is no theological internal logic to a right to implements of pure intrinsic violence, if we are to hold that our shared creator is benevolent and good. Yet we have so called "Christian" churches handing out guns for first time attendees, the same people claim that teachings of Jesus Christ are the only way to salvation which is includes "those who live by the sword die by the sword" believe that eternal life is living by the gun. The only solution for this cultural abomination is that of a drastic cultural change that will no longer tolerate implements that can exclusively be used for violent purposes.

The people of faith claiming allegiance to Jesus of Nazareth, should be the source of this societal transformation but I will not hold my breath for this logical awakening.

Las Vegas Mass Shooting: Poltical Entitlement + Guns = Random Acts of Violence

Most recent mass shooting perpetrators' profile picture, dressed up as Batman villains the Joker and Harley Quinn 

Jared and Amanda Miller yesterday morning shot and killed two Las Vegas police officers (aka good guys with guns) then proceeded to charge into a Walmart and shoot to death a customer before committing suicide. The couple expressed radical tendencies to their neighbors and had a proliferate collection of white-supremacy literature and pamphlets in their home. They, according to police reports, were not involved with any larger anti-government or white supremacist movement but made it widely known that was their personally held belief. The motivation for the mass shooting has been attributed to their desire to overthrow the government and that they saw police as an oppressive and illegitimate force.

Their actions are not that of merely a married couple that were prone to violence, but the cultural environment that is permissive if not wholly encouraging jumping to the conclusion that gun violence is acceptable and justifiable response to anything that hasn't met personal expectations. Anarch-Capitalists will often refer to the mass violence committed by the state, the most damning being the threat of violence of imprisonment for failure to pay taxes, always reserve the divinely given right to access weapons and to remain a violent threat towards the government. The paradox that the evil act of systemically implementing a threat of violence (again the threat of imprisonment) while comprehending that freedom can only exist if they have the ability to threaten violence in response to living in a Utopia. The cultural changes that need to be made that even the slightest and least serious claim threat of violence to those hold differing political views should be shamed by those who wish for a more verdant world (ex. Rush Limbaugh's demand to exterminate all liberals except for 2 in each university to be kept as exhibit of why liberals needed to be exterminated... I wish I could think of left-wing examples but even the radicals like Code Pink and PETA demand Republicans be prosecuted or that legislation be enacted to end cruelty towards animals there hasn't left-wing associated political violence since the Weathermen of the 1970s). Political violence whether it be the Millers of the Las Vegas shooting or Hutaree Militia who were foiled by sharing their plans before they could carry out their plan for random acts of gun violence towards police officers. We need to ask the following questions, why does any individual need carbine semi-automatic rifles? If the only answer is that the 2nd Amendment says no law should infringe on the people's right to bear arms, then does the U.S. signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty make it unenforceable due it's unconstitutional nature? Wasn't the rationale given by the Bush administration to invade Iraq (as dubious as it was even at the time) affront to the divine right to possess weapons that is supposedly enshrined in the 2nd Amendment?

My personal belief is that within a civilized society, there is no "right" to violent barbarism nor any implement. One need not legislate away this fetish to have weapons but we can move culture to shun firearms and those that are deluded themselves they need these objects like toddlers crying for their blankies.

Yet Another Mass Shooting, Culture Declining Like A Rock

 

The mass shooting yesterday at near Santa Barbara City College by Elliot Rodger has sadly become far too common place in America. The number of victims may vacillate and location may differ with each incident (Fort Hood aside) but it tends to be some one that is mentally unbalanced that has easy access to firearms that leads to same tragedy multiple violent deaths.

This shooting has it's unique attribute that the shooter premeditated the abomination that he had been planning and posted a YouTube video describing his "rationale" of the horrors he had planned to commence later that day. After watching it I came away with these two thoughts: 1) shooting spree is vastly disproportionate response to being a 22 year old virgin 2) his sporadic laughter in the video, if it was intended to provide him with the utmost creepiness factor-- he succeeded even though it seemed forced and hammy. Unlike the bizarre text-based videos of Gabby Giffords shooter Jared Loughner, Rodger's videos seemed more like over-the-top emo teenager than someone that was going to commit mass murder. After watching a couple of Rodger's videos I would have assumed that he would be likely to put on some bad one-man show that just had him moping about his non-existent love life while traipsing on stage wearing black pants and and black turtle neck... which ironically might have been a successful strategy to getting his 1st girlfriend that might have been deluded he was deep and artistic.