Written : Feb. 4-5, 9, 2013
I’m now active on Twitter. Please follow me there at @markacohenI posted Part One of this post last week (on Feb 5, 2013), please use this link to read it.
After hearing Rep. Chris Holbert (R-CO) speak, I considered the questions he posed on gun control. Meanwhile, on the way to work, I heard We’re All Alone by Boz Scaggs, and Suzie Q by Credence Clearwater Revival. These songs are as different as right and left-wing opinions. “Of course, this is the story of my life,” I reminded myself. Then, the same old question, “Should we choose restrictions or freedom?” That’s now an easy one for me. I choose freedom - but why? Restrictions lead to tyranny and freedom leads to liberty. As a former major league baseball manager once said, “It’s that simple.”
In response to pressure we might feel to set up a CIA/FBI national database of law-abiding citizens who own guns, should we rely on knee-jerk reactions, leaping to conclusions, panic and fear? In an effort to satisfy a lust for vengeance, must we screen everyone for mental health issues and/or impose a healthy dose of taxes on them before they buy a gun? Rep. Holbert suggested that perhaps thoughtfulness is a better way. For this balance I consulted my friends. Most of them don’t identify as strict conservatives, but every one of them stressed the importance of thinking it over instead of rushing to any old one-size-fits-all solution. It’s a balance of security vs. liberty, they all agreed (yes, even my liberal friends), and they raised more questions we must ask.
Does Jared Loughner deserve the same freedoms we enjoy – before he kills? No one wants him to kill, but if his record is clean, how can we stop him ahead of the crime? Should convicted criminals forfeit the right to carry? How would you know ahead of time if Seung-Hui Cho is going to commit mass murder? Should we allow his parents or elementary school teachers to decide? What qualifies them? If we bestow the power to deny a citizen his rights, which procedures would we use, and which board of directors gets to choose them? Do we have the power to strip others of their rights? How far will it go before someone takes away some of your rights – just because someone wrongly thinks that you pose a danger to the rest of us?
If your government limits the number of legal guns you can purchase, criminals - who don’t let laws influence their behavior - will try to obtain them illegally. With the same stroke of the pen, more law-abiding citizens would lose the capability for self-defense. For example, if they reduce magazine capacities to 7 cartridges each, as the state of New York did, what will happen during the next surprise break-in? Yes, more innocents will die.
I’ll post Part III next week.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS
Obamacare explained in one long sentence
Jon Stewart finds intolerance at the DNC
Scroll down: Rosa Koire explains Agenda 21
SUGGESTED TV SHOW - for your DVR
BLOG ROLL (Political):
BLOG ROLL (Writers):
BLOG ROLL (Open Source Hacking):
BLOG-PING SITES:
Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative blog, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, Red Eye, Chris Holbert, Gun Control Debate, Gabby Giffords, Gabrielle Giffords, Second Amendment
Keywords: "Conservatism", "Conservative blog", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right", “Red Eye”, “Chris Holbert”, “Gun Control Debate”, “Gabby Giffords”, “Gabrielle Giffords”, “Second Amendment”
Mark A. Cohen is currently seeking representation for his memoir, From The Left to the Right.
Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group
Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group (Check out their Facebook page here)
Or, see the Parker Writers Group Web page here
Mark A. Cohen is a member of the Castle Rock Writers (Check out their Facebook page here)
Mark A. Cohen currently sits on the committee which hosted the Castle Rock Writers Conference on October 13, 2012. He is currently their Vice-Treasurer. The group, whose motto is Rock Solid Writing, is seeking their 501c3, and will convene to plan the 2013 conference soon.
Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 20 minutes at the Coffee4Conservatives meeting at the Firehouse on State Road 83, in Franktown, CO, on Oct. 21, 2012.
Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 30 minutes at the Douglas County Republicans’ First Friday Breakfast in Parker, CO, held at The War Horse Inn, on Dec. 2, 2011.
Click on the logo below to get to the main CBC site:
From the Left to the Right - Follow this link to Facebook and please click “Like” it!
I highly recommend Dr. Anna Geving, my dentist in Parker, CO
No comments:
Post a Comment