Signs of Intelligence (Fred on gun control)

Signs of Intelligence?(Fred on gun control)
4/20/2007 | Fred Dalton Thompson

Signs of Intelligence?

One of the things that's got to be going through a lot of peoples' minds now is how one man with two handguns, that he had to reload time and time again, could go from classroom to classroom on the Virginia Tech campus without being stopped. Much of the answer can be found in policies put in place by the university itself.

Virginia, like 39 other states, allows citizens with training and legal permits to carry concealed weapons. That means that Virginians regularly sit in movie theaters and eat in restaurants among armed citizens. They walk, joke and rub shoulders everyday with people who responsibly carry firearms -- and are far safer than they would be in San Francisco, Oakland, Detroit, Chicago, New York City, or Washington, D.C., where such permits are difficult or impossible to obtain.

The statistics are clear. Communities that recognize and grant Second Amendment rights to responsible adults have a significantly lower incidence of violent crime than those that do not. More to the point, incarcerated criminals tell criminologists that they consider local gun laws when they decide what sort of crime they will commit, and where they will do so.

Still, there are a lot of people who are just offended by the notion that people can carry guns around. They view everybody, or at least many of us, as potential murderers prevented only by the lack of a convenient weapon. Virginia Tech administrators overrode Virginia state law and threatened to expel or fire anybody who brings a weapon onto campus.

In recent years, however, armed Americans -- not on-duty police officers -- have successfully prevented a number of attempted mass murders. Evidence from Israel, where many teachers have weapons and have stopped serious terror attacks, has been documented. Supporting, though contrary, evidence from Great Britain, where strict gun controls have led to violent crime rates far higher than ours, is also common knowledge.

So Virginians asked their legislators to change the university's "concealed carry" policy to exempt people 21 years of age or older who have passed background checks and taken training classes. The university, however, lobbied against that bill, and a top administrator subsequently praised the legislature for blocking the measure.

The logic behind this attitude baffles me, but I suspect it has to do with a basic difference in worldviews. Some people think that power should exist only at the top, and everybody else should rely on "the authorities" for protection.

Despite such attitudes, average Americans have always made up the front line against crime. Through programs like Neighborhood Watch and Amber Alert, we are stopping and catching criminals daily. Normal people tackled "shoe bomber" Richard Reid as he was trying to blow up an airliner. It was a truck driver who found the D.C. snipers. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that civilians use firearms to prevent at least a half million crimes annually.

When people capable of performing acts of heroism are discouraged or denied the opportunity, our society is all the poorer. And from the selfless examples of the passengers on Flight 93 on 9/11 to Virginia Tech professor Liviu Librescu, a Holocaust survivor who sacrificed himself to save his students earlier this week, we know what extraordinary acts of heroism ordinary citizens are capable of.

Many other universities have been swayed by an anti-gun, anti-self defense ideology. I respect their right to hold those views, but I challenge their decision to deny Americans the right to protect themselves on their campuses -- and then proudly advertise that fact to any and all.

Whenever I've seen one of those "Gun-free Zone" signs, especially outside of a school filled with our youngest and most vulnerable citizens, I've always wondered exactly who these signs are directed at. Obviously, they don't mean much to the sort of man who murdered 32 people just a few days ago.

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That is fine. The real issue, however, is Illegal Immigration. We need to all stand for Tom Tancredo. He will make things happen. We must not splinter up with multiple candidates. If we do, we repeat the normal cycle of nothing ever getting done!

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 Fred said;

"Many other universities have been swayed by an anti-gun, anti-self defense ideology. I respect their right to hold those views, but I challenge their decision to deny Americans the right to protect themselves on their campuses -- and then proudly advertise that fact to any and all.

Whenever I've seen one of those "Gun-free Zone" signs, especially outside of a school filled with our youngest and most vulnerable citizens, I've always wondered exactly who these signs are directed at. Obviously, they don't mean much to the sort of man who murdered 32 people just a few days ago."

So True!

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The Angry Patriot said: That is fine. The real issue, however, is Illegal Immigration. We need to all stand for Tom Tancredo. He will make things happen. We must not splinter up with multiple candidates. If we do, we repeat the normal cycle of nothing ever getting done!

Illegal immigration is only one of the issues. It is going to come to a point that we are going to have to arm ourselves against these intruders.

In Dalton,Ga, about 35 minutes south of Chattanooga,Tn where I live, there has been at least 3 murders reported in the last week. All three were in the Hispanic neighborhoods. How long will it be before it spills over into the other neighborhoods.

 

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Another reason why I admire Fred Thompson! We need some serious soul searching and intellectual honesty here ,The only way to stop a crazed gunman is with another gun!Police never show up in time to save anyone,It is not their fault there is simply not enough of them!and it takes time to get the call,drive to the scene and figure out what is going on.Many of those students were former military well versed in the safety and handling of a weapon!One student with a handgun could have stopped this rampage cold!but here  is where the honesty comes in,Not everyone should be allowed to buy a gun,no one wants a person of bad moral character to own a weapon,an ex con for example.Nor do we want a deranged or angry person to own one either. This guy Cho had a history of stalking ,anger and mental illness and yet he was allowed to walk into a gun shop and purchase a pistol.By law the states database should have contained this info about him and he should have been denied a gun!I believe that owning a gun is at least if not more serious than driving a car,and should be taken seriously.In order to buy a gun there should be a period of time needed to do a background check as well as a mental evaluation of the candidate! then an approved state training course,and if any strange behavior is noticed by the instructors ,your weapon should be conficated and your licence revoked!All these conditions being met I agree the world would be a safer place if upstanding citizens were allowed to carry weapons if they choose!

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John07 said:

It is going to come to a point that we are going to have to arm ourselves against these intruders. 

I've already done that.   We have an assortment of legal and illegals here.  The illegals are the only ones that have caused us grief.  We keep loaded handguns and shotguns ready for the latter and have taken shots at them a few times when they tried to steal from us.  TN law states that we can't shoot them unless they are in the house or threaten our lives but we sure make them think we can.  I doubt they know the law.  We aren't in any danger of shooting a bystander because I'm so far in the country that I don't have close neighbors, or witnesses.

 

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Angry patriot I agree that Illegal Immigration is an important issue,but go and tell the families of those kids killed sitting in their classrooms that the issues of self protection is not just as important!

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One step at a time people across the country are being allowed to ignore whats constitutional and whats not. Even congress does it. They bribe each other and break the laws on a daily basis with immunity. Nothing less then a total overhaul would start us headed in another direction.

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yep criminals dont obey the laws.

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Tom,

I don't need to tell anyone anything! Where I live MS-13 has killed people. I know all to well. You must start at the top of the problem. Get rid of illegal undocumented people. Many of them have criminal backgrounds! I own a firearm. I also went through some decent paperwork to get it too!

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Ron Paul has always had a strong stand for the second amendment. Here is a statement from 2003: http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul9... Ron is not a globalist like Fred. He is not a flip-flopper like Mitt. Ron is a great candidate. For more on the second amendment see NOBORG.BLOGSPOT.COM and read down to "The People's Article" for a look at the Bill of Rights. Notice (perhaps to your dislike) that the second amendment history included that the founders were anti-conscription.

James,

Melinda is a lost cause.  Thankfully she is not a typical RINO neocon because her boy, and the other 2 candidates she likes are much better than the big 2 that the establishment is pushing.  But she does not get it.  She ATTACKS Ron Paul and Ron Paul supporters.  She probably has not even read one of his articles as posted at Lew Rockwell, hasn't watched any of his videos, or probably hasn't even read any of his bulletted issues points on his campaign websites.  Ron Paul is a candidate for people who have an open mind.  You should know, of all people, being the author of the Constitution () that people fear liberty because liberty means responsibility. 

Who would think that somebody in Washington would be attacked for wanting to limit government and for actually having a record of obeying the law.  Though you can't win'm all.  Right is always right, and wrong is always wrong.  Voting for the lesser of the evils is always wrong.

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Ron is not a globalist like Fred.

but, but, but, but......I thought all globalist one-worlder's want to put an end to the 2nd Amendment so they can do all their terrible sneaky "taking over the world" deeds without any resistance? 

ROTFL, I laugh myself silly in here sometimes listening to this tripe.  Fred is one of the biggest supporters of the 2nd Amendment ever and always has been! 

Ron Paul supporters used to make me mad until I figured out how comical they are.  They really make for good entertainment.  

 

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Melinda in TN said:

Ron is not a globalist like Fred.

but, but, but, but......I thought all globalist one-worlder's want to put an end to the 2nd Amendment so they can do all their terrible sneaky "taking over the world" deeds without any resistance? 

So by this logic, George Bush isn't a globalist?

Note: Fred Thompson is a card carrying member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  You know, the group that basically came up with NAFTA, and now are pushing for the NAU via the SPP (www.spp.gov) and the NAFTA superhighway.  This why Bush and the neocons want amnesty so bad.  This is the first step towards a borderless America.

IT'S THE CONSTITUTION!  STUPID!

Uphold the Constitution, vote Ron Paul.

 

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Well, howdy doody RonPaul08.  What took you so long?  You usually show up to troll my threads much sooner than this.   Are you slipping or did you find somebody else to troll?

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Thanks for proving my point.

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RonPaul08 said: Thanks for proving my point.

"I am NOT Ron Paul, just a big fan!" RonPaul08

A big fan only stirs up a lot of dust and hot air.

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    Lol... and with the rudeness he has shown, only damage to the real Ron Paul's hopes....

What's the thoughts on the John Birch Society? Here are some musings about Ron Paul's rating. Tuesday, August 01, 2006 JBS rates Congress The John Birch Society came out again with ratings of the U.S. Congress. Ron Paul of Texas scored 100. Dems scored higher than Republicans. Senator Lugar scored 0. If you don't understand that how about zero, zilch, nothing. And this guy runs for President of the U.S.? Hey, if we change the Constitution to let Arnold run for Prez, how about Gorby or Putin. Hostettler scored 60 or 67. Feingold scored 50 or thirty-something. I would tend to give more weight to the quesitons of Patriot Act and NSA and Feingold would actually score better. The difference between Hostettler and Ron Paul? Ron Paul represents Citizens under the U.S. Constitution. Hostettler thinks he can vote away our rights and Constitution. This blogger will not cast a vote for this sell out. (Sorry John but when your tyrant state comes about you may see me placing my flag in what you might consider an uncomfortable position.) This is covered a bit more fully by Laurence M. Vance in this article. My take: "Houston, we have problems." (Although Ron Paul represents Houston and he is not the problem.) Posted by Vigo County LP Chair at 1.8.06 0 comments Links to this post I do not believe JBS would be very high on Fred Thompson. Fred lists like a resume the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Enterprise Institute. Bloggers here have said Fred doesn't talk much about the CFR. do they know it is a secret society where they cannot talk about their meetings. No real American would associate themselves with this sellout organization. Does anyone on this forum doubt Fred would vote for more anti-American so-called trade and unity agreements? Dick Morris wrote this in TownHall: http://www.townhall.com/columnists/Di... Two Peas In a Pod? Both Gingrich and Thompson belong to the CFR which according to Senator Barry Goldwater would like to take our sovereignty. Goldwater made this known some thirty odd years ago. Today our Congress has abrogated the authority of the United States Constitution by giving our president "Fast Track Authority" on negotiating treaties. Today we have our Sovereignty being eroded by the "TREASONOUS" Trade deals that our President has been negotiating and plans to negotiate on behalf on NAFTA AND CAFTA. In my opinion these are impeacheable offenses. Pat Buchanan wrote at World Net Daily: http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article... Today's trade agreements are about reshaping the world to conform to the demands of transnational corporations that have shed their national identities and loyalties and want to shed their U.S. workers. Tired of contributing to Medicare and Social Security and having to deal with Americans who need health-care and pension benefits, they want to dump them all and hire Asians who will work for $2 an hour. Trade treaties have become enabling acts by which global companies desert their home countries. CAFTA will enable U.S. firms to shut down factories here, lay off their labor force, and hire Dominicans and Costa Ricans, but retain free access to the U.S. market. They get to fire their American workers - and keep their American consumers. What a deal. NAFTA and CAFTA are the shield laws of corporate absconders. What these companies want ultimately is a world government that will protect their absolute freedom to go where they wish and do what they want - the country be damned. Morris and Buchanan are not my favorites but it is hard to disagree with them here.

Sorry, but it's the other way around.  You have made my point, over and over and over. 

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