As the outrage, sadness and shock of the Las Vegas and Sutherland Springs Baptist Church shootings fade, we find ourselves back in a spot where a familiar political and cultural battle has been occurring.
On one side you have the anti-gun crowd, Democrats primarily, supported by an overwhelming majority of mainstream news people.
The opposing side gives us the Second Amendment/pro-gun community, Republicans primarily, supported by the NRA and, besides Fox News, only a handful of conservative websites and bloggers like me.
In my humble opinion, this debate goes back to religion, or rather the start of the removal of it from society. Yes, I know it’s a heated-enough discussion when debating gun rights, and that bringing God into it will only add fuel to the fire.
However, it’s no secret that the Democratic Party in the last two decades has been steering heavily to the left. This new direction is that of secularism. If there’s any doubt, just remember that during the Hillary-fixed, Bernie-betraying Democratic National Convention, a Christian minister was heckled and in 2012 God was booed.
By removing God from your beliefs and from any discussion, you remove the premise of good and evil. Drawing on that, evil is removed as an option when the cause of these spree killings is discussed. Essentially, you establish that since men are committing these heinous acts, only more laws can stop these events.
Our nation was founded on, and then guided by, Christian principles for its first two centuries. In the decades after World War II, and exponentially in the last 30 years, there has been a concerted effort to remove religion and moral values from government and society. Although the First Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” elected officials and government employees have been restricted practicing from their own beliefs. Prayer, even voluntary, self-led prayer has been banned from many schools and schoolgrounds.
During this same era, we have seen the government give its consent to allow unborn children to be murdered. This demonstrates the ultimate disrespect for human life.
Our nation is continually removing moral traditions and barriers, one after another. Respect for human life has been whittled away, one abortion at a time. Is it really a coincidence that during this period, we have started seeing an increase of violence and murder? Up through the late 80s and early 90s, firearm homicides continued to rise.
There was a turning point though. American eyes started to open, and the conservative population started to realize what was happening. A new trend was about to hit our country, and it started with the “good people” refusing to become victims.
Citizens started learning that they could no longer count on the government to protect them from the hateful wave that was building. People of faith knew they were now responsible for the safety of themselves and their families.
More people started buying guns. Many of these people started carrying guns where legal, or began pushing for more relaxed carry laws in their states. From 1985-1996, almost half of the states became “shall issue” when it came to carry permits. That means you have the right to get that permit issued as long as you don’t have a “disqualifying condition.” Prior to the 80’s, only a select few were authorized to carry firearms. Usually, you had to be famous or “know someone.”
There is a not-so-coincidental trend that occurred during the same period as the rate of gun owners/carries started to rise. Firearm homicide rates started to fall.
You read that correctly. With these changing laws favoring citizens who wanted to defend themselves, and an increase in people carrying firearms, starting in 1994, gun deaths started to decline all the way through 2014. There was one small uptick around 2005-2006, but that was an anomaly during this trend.
Twelve states now allow "Constitutional Carry," which means no permit is necessary to carry a firearm. At least 20 other states are planning or have already introduced legislation to do the same.
Because of the availability of the news with 24-hour networks, the Internet and sensationalism of major events, most people think that firearm homicides have increased during that era. That’s exactly what the Democrats and anti-gunners want you to think. It aids their cause to have you ignorant of the facts.
Again, I must restate this relatively unknown truth: while all these pro-gun events have been occurring, the firearm homicide rate has been falling.
Here’s a formula that illustrates what I am saying:
Growing population + higher firearm ownership + more firearms being carried by more individuals = less firearm homicides.
It’s almost unbelievable.
One other point: if you remove the Democrat-controlled inner-cities from the statistics, along with the gang violence that occurs there, the homicide rate in our country of 320 million people would be near negligible.
Mass-shootings get a ton of media attention though, which tricks the viewer into thinking gun homicides are higher than ever. As Rahm Emmanuel famously stated his popular Democratic mantra, never let a tragedy go to waste. The problem is not gun control. It’s just that liberals are appalled that they aren’t able to “control the guns,” or those who own them.
Evil people will use whatever weapon or tool they can to placate their wanton desire for causing suffering and death. You must put the blame where it belongs — on the person, not the tool.
Our country was freed by men with firearms. Slavery was ended by men with firearms. Everyday women prevent their own rape with firearms, heroes protect their families and friends with firearms. Criminals are deterred knowing that there is a growing population of armed civilians.
We must ensure that the downward trend of homicides is not reversed by the party that claims to want government to protect us. It’s been proven that it cannot. Leftists have already removed God from modern society. We cannot let them do the same to “good guys with guns.”
John Cylc is a conservative Christian and eight year U.S. Army veteran who primarily speaks out on the Second Amendment, gun rights issues, and contemporary topics. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he currently resides with his wife and youngest son in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in beautiful East Tennessee. He is the founder of ThirteenFox.com and a contributor to LifeZette. To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.
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