[Sent from an anonymous reader]
Brothers and sisters, you and we have had our differences. We don't celebrate Gay Pride, and we feel that at the very least, questions like same-sex marriage should be submitted to a vote of the whole people and/or legislative majorities, not a handful of judges.
But we are ready to set all that aside in the face of the Islamic Jihad attack in Orlando. Because although Islamic countries routinely execute people accused of homosexuality, and the Orlando jihadi took his inspiration from Islam in targeting a gay nightclub, this was an attack on America and all of us, right and left, homo and hetero. Besides, Jesus commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and we take that seriously, however much we may fail.
You might not believe it, but there are thousands of us who would jump at the opportunity to run toward the sound of gunfire to engage a savage like Omar Mateen and save your life, even if it meant drawing fire to ourselves, even if it meant risking taking a bullet for you, if only we could be at hand, with ready access to our firearms.
But that can't happen if you keep advocating for false "gun-free zones" and laws that only effectively prohibit law-abiding citizens like us, with zero effect on criminals and terrorists. There will always be bad guys, and they will always be able to get all the guns they want. Raids on mosques in France have yielded thousands of weapons, in a country with severe legal restrictions on gun ownership and no Second Amendment. Perhaps the most perfect and complete gun control ever was achieved in Germany -- Nazi Germany of the 1930's. What more needs to be said?
Gun control isn't going to stop these murders and massacres. When (not if) the $#!+ hits the fan, you need good guys with guns on the premises, not minutes away or on the phone. Here and now.
Night clubs could hire more security guards armed with semiautomatic pistols and carbines like the AR15, as could schools, universities and shopping malls. But that of course would make the cover charges and drink prices go up, to the point of hurting both the patrons and the profitability of the establishment. If you don't want to pay more or lose business but still want to be protected, you have to allow good people who are willing and able to carry, to do so.
We can start by relaxing futile restrictions. In particular, private businesses should be at liberty to establish and publish their own policies without interference from government, such as permitting holders of CCW (Concealed-Carry Weapon) permits from trusted agencies such as the State of Utah. Which club will you patronize, the one advertising "gun-free zone" or the one declaring "Virginia CCW permit holders Welcome"? Your choice; that's called Freedom.
You might argue that the criminal background checks for issuing CCW permits are flawed, as Omar Mateen was able to acquire multiple licenses and even get employed by a leading security firm. It's a fair point, but also moot; we're not talking about a perfect solution, we're talking about evening the odds in a worst-case scenario. Even so, some of us would be perfectly happy to say to hell with the NSA, the FBI, the DHS and the TSA and instead outsource the whole thing to the IDF -- the Israeli Defense Force. They haven't been infected with political correctness and infiltrated by closet jihadis at all levels, as our agencies have.
Will you partner with us in good faith to defend America, our freedoms, and yourselves? You have a tremendous amount of political clout; put it to positive use. On a personal level, if you haven't already done so, find a reputable school and get some real training in firearm safety, storage, handling and shooting. A good place to start if you need to stay somewhat within your comfort zone would be the Pink Pistols (www.pinkpistols.org) -- apparently their membership has doubled or tripled in just this past week. Some of your colleagues have figured out that armed gays don't get bashed.
We wish that we could rewind the clock just enough to put a gun in the hand of every club goer who got shot that night. We can't. But we can increase the odds that the next jihadi will be met by swift return fire from at least a few patrons; enough to make all the difference to persons now living who will be present when that terrible moment arrives. Don't kid yourselves; there are plenty more attacks coming, and not one of them will be stopped by a gun control law, even if liberals could achieve their wet dream of repealing the Second Amendment.
Brothers and sisters, we've got your back. Work with us.
We still reserve the right not to bake you a wedding cake. Get over it.