New Covenant

Shooting in Los Angeles: Cop on Cop

Actually, it was in Long Beach (close to Los Angeles), and it was ICE Agent on ICE Agent.

From CBS2 News,

A workplace encounter turned deadly when a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent turned a gun on his boss after he threatened disciplinary action at the Long Beach Federal Building Thursday evening.

...

During a press conference held by the FBI and ICE, officials said the incident began when an ICE supervisor called in an agent to discuss disciplinary action. The agent responded by shooting his superior. Another employee intervened and shot the gunman, who died at the scene.

Why is this important?

In the debate regarding the 2nd Amendment and private ownership of firearms it is often argued, from anti-2nd Amendment apologists, that we the people should only trust firearm ownership and possession to "those qualified" - i.e., law enforcement. The fly in the ointment with such "reasoning" is that law enforcement personnel are human and, as such, are subject to the same failings as the rest of us regular folk.

While incidents such as this one should not be used to broadbrush paint all law enforcement officers as derelict, we need to remember that responsible firearm ownership and possession is by no means limited to their domain. As such, we should also remember that private citizens in the United States are guaranteed the right to keep and bear arms.

Another point to take away from this story, particularly with regards to the use of firearms in the act of self-defense, can be found from this L.A. Times excerpt,

Kevin Kozak, 51, a second-in-command of ICE in Los Angeles, suffered six gunshot wounds to his legs, upper torso and hands. Authorities identified the shooter as Ezequiel Garcia, 45, a supervisory agent, who was shot to death by another supervisor in the office after wounding Kozak.

The victim was shot six times yet was, as an article elsewhere states, "awake and lucid."

Private citizens who keep firearms for self-defense need to always be cognizant of the fact that an attacker may not be stopped when hit by only one or two bullets - unlike what is typically portrayed on TV or in the movies. If forced to use a firearm for self-defense, per all competent trainers, you never shoot to kill, you shoot to stop (the attack). However, be aware that it may take multiple shots on the assailant to stop him from harming you or your loved ones.

As with any form of self-defense you may choose to use, training and preparation are key.

On Ben Witherington's comments regarding firearms

Ben Witherington is a Biblical scholar whom I highly respect. While I've not read any of his books, I have heard him interviewed several times, and recently read his critique of Frank Viola & George Barna's book Pagan Christianity. When it comes to New Testament data, you'd be hard pressed to get a better or more thorough commentator.

However, in perusing his site, I ran across a post he wrote (just after the 2011 Tucson shooting in which Rep. Gabby Giffords was gravely wounded and 6 other people killed) regarding firearms and gun ownership in general. Suffice it to say that he is less than enthusiastic about the manner with which the 2nd Amendment is exercised in 21st century America. While he is entitled to his opinion, I must say that I consider his arguments to be weak and without substantial basis.

 In Guns and Religion - Enough is Quite Enough, Witherington lists the following pro-gun arguments which, as he puts it, are actually "myths".

Myth # 1: "Guns don't kill people"

Myth # 2: "If we ban guns, only criminals will have guns"

Myth # 3: "The Constitution and the Bill of Rights gives the private citizen the right to own whatever gun his heart desires"

Myth # 4: "Hunting Animals (e.g. Deer) is a Sport"

Myth # 5: "The Best Way to Protect Yourself and Your Family is to Buy Guns"

Rather than actually address these "myths" properly, however, he resorts to erecting straw men, following illogical paths, tossing out red herrings, and presenting false or misleading information. Let me address what I believe to be the problems with his arguments.

Links for Thursday, 3 November 2011

Is the term "Christian Yoga" an oxymoron?
It doesn't seem to be to many evangelicals, who embrace the practice of yoga, sometimes couched in Christian terms. Pastor Mark Driscoll gives us his views,

There is nothing wrong with stretching, exercising, or regulating one’s stress through breathing. But when the tenets of yoga are included, it’s by definition a worship act to spirit beings other than the God of the Bible. By way of analogy, there is nothing inherently wrong with intimacy, sex, and pleasure. But when the tenets of adultery are included, it’s a sinfully idolatrous worship act. A faithful Christian can no more say they are practicing yoga for Jesus than they can say they are committing adultery for Jesus.

Read it all.

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Steve Jobs: cared about humanity but not about humans
So says Tim Challies, in his review of the recent biography on Jobs.

A brutal man with a terrible temper and a genuine god complex, he was also a man who drove people to new heights of innovation and creativity. As much as people hated to receive a tongue-lashing from Jobs, they knew that in the end he motivated them and pushed them to do better. And this is a crucial component of the strange legacy of Steve Jobs. He will forever be known as a great innovator and a man who lived at the crossroads between the humanities and the sciences. In his own field and in his own way, he sought to make the world a better place. But he did so at the expense of so many people whom he left abandoned and brutalized. It’s like he cared for humanity but not for humans, for mankind but not for individuals.

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The price of peanut butter is skyrocketing
So... try Sunbutter. It's a great alternative (especially for those unfortunate souls who happen to be allergic to peanuts).

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One way to keep violent crime under control? Arm yourself.
So says one sheriff.

Only in California (v. 1)

Only in California is a new link spotlight to some of the weirdness found on the Left Coast.

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Stop the Killing! (of coyotes)

After a coyote (or coyotes) began to make dinner out of small dogs and cats in one Anaheim neighborhood, local residents decided to have the animal caught and euthanized. Sounds like a common sense approach, right? Not to animal-rights activists and certain American Indians (aka Native Americans). From the OC Register,

"We want Anaheim and all of Orange County to know that we have lived in harmony with coyotes and other wildlife for generations, and killing coyotes with poison, traps or GPS devices is unfair and upsets the balance of nature," said Randal Massaro of Victorville, a representative for Union Members for Preservation of Wildlife Worldwide. Massaro describes his organization as an "underground movement of union members" trying to protect nature.

"I am here for nature itself," said Apache Daklugie Running-Hawk, who said he is a spiritual leader for the Tarasco Nation band of Indians and is based in Lucerne Valley.

"These are our four-legged friends, and this is their land," he said. "Now they are trying to drive them out, like they drove us (Native Americans) out generations ago. We need to live among them and learn from them."

Running-Hawk played a song on a Native-American wood flute in a show of "respect and peace" during his comments before the council.

There is some sense in all this nonsense, though. By effectively separating humans from the rest of the animal kingdom (e.g., "this is their land"), there is a blanket admission to the distinctiveness of the human species and, I would argue, the imago Dei.

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Gun Control Marches On

Governor Brown, reportedly a gun owner himself, had 4 anti-gun bills on his desk recently.

AB 809 expands gun registration to include long guns, SB 427 effectively initiates ammunition registration, SB 819 redistributes current gun registration fees, and AB 144 would ban the open carrying of an unloaded handgun.

Unfortunately, he signed three of them into law: AB 809, SB 819, and AB 144. He vetoed SB 427, but only because of a lawsuit against the bill's predecessor, which was deemed unconstitutional.

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Government doesn't belong in your home... unless you're having a Bible Study

A southern California couple is faced with a legal battle after being fined for hosting a Bible Study in their home.

So much for the "separation of church and state."

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Achoo! - God Bless You

A California student was penalized for uttering the words "God bless you" after someone sneezed.

“The blessing really doesn’t make sense anymore,” Cuckovich explained. “When you sneezed in the old days, they thought you were dispelling evil spirits out of your body. So they were saying, ‘God bless you,’ for getting rid of evil spirits. But today, what you’re doing really doesn’t make sense.”

I wonder if Mr. Cuckovich has ever told anyone good-bye?

Self-defense attitudes amongst our leaders

Are you aware that the governor of New Mexico is a Republican Hispanic woman? Are you also aware that Gov. Susana Martinez is a Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) permit holder? Recently, she re-certified for her CCW permit and scored 100% using both .38 and .45-caliber handguns. What's more, she even Tweeted about it and posted a YouTube video of one of the courses.

Is that cool or what? Gotta love that sound of steel being hit.

Are you aware that in 2010, Governor Rick Perry while out on a run with his daughter's dog shot an approaching coyote with his CCW pistol (a Ruger LCP - Little Compact Pistol). Here's a video of Gov. Perry instructing a blogger on shooting technique.

Of course, he is from Texas.

Can you imagine a story about Barack Obama shooting? About the only thing I can think of him shooting is a basketball.

As for firearms, you can be sure that an anti-2nd Amendment politician like Obama has his crosshairs set not on teaching proper gun handling techniques, nor on promoting the right of self-defense, but on that of taking away your rights and, if he can get away with it, your firearms. Rest assured that, by his own admission, he's addressing gun control "under the radar." And pay close attention to how he stacks the bench of the Supreme Court. Judge Sotomayor, "wise Latina" that she is, doesn't seem to think that you and I have a right to self-defense.

Don't let them take it away from us. Vote. Teach. Lobby.

- photo © A Human Right

 

 

A couple of Sunday links

Remember my post noting how some Pharmacists now carry weapons to protect themselves from drug addicts holding them up for oxycontin? Well, in Long Island we have a story of 4 people (2 employees and 2 customers) being shot dead in a Pharmacy hold up. The alleged shooter (and his wife) has been found and arrested. From ABC News,  

Drug stores are now equipping themselves with surveillance cameras to protect themselves from possible break-ins.

Seriously? All I have to do to protect my household from a possible break-in is install a surveillance camera?

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Remember my post noting how TSA is keeping us all safer by patting-down 5 year-old girls and 80 year-old grandmothers? Well, besides letting the identity-thief stowaway get a free ride, it seems that the TSA also has an inability to keep checked firearms from getting stolen.