(ThyBlackMan.com) Places of worship are sacrosanct. The houses of The Lord are supposed to be set aside for the uplifting of God’s most holy name through song, praise, prayers, teaching and preaching, fellowship, discipleship, and stewardship. The holy Bible tells us so. Our upbringing tells us so. Common sense tells us so. Much to my chagrin, these things are apparently not so within the great state of Georgia. Here in the Peach State, a majority of our legislators – public servants elected by us to govern with our best interests in mind – have inexplicably deemed it appropriate for Georgians to have the legal right to bring weapons into The Lord’s house. Loaded weapons. Such is life in the new, Old West.
Georgia House Bill 875 would be a hilarious piece of legislation if it wasn’t so dangerous and so potentially all-encompassing. If this bill is enacted into law, do not be deceived. Georgia won’t immediately become a much
safer state in which to live and work. Georgia will instantly become a much more lethal state in the “Bible belt.”
While you’re reading this and expecting me to zig, I’m going to zag instead. This Op-Ed isn’t about the National Rifle Association or its vociferous spokesperson, Wayne LaPierre. This isn’t about the United States Constitution or the 2nd Amendment. This isn’t about you or imposing against your freedoms as an American citizen. It’s about American gun lobbyists. All they care about is dollars – not sense.
Hear me well. The vast majority of Americans and Georgians who personally own firearms are God-fearing, tax-paying, law-abiding, hardworking, good people. For the sake of exposition, let’s assume that these people make up 99% of gun owners in the U.S., shall we? These Americans – these Georgians – have taken gun safety classes. They own gun safes so they can safely store their firearms away from their own children. They have passed background checks. They are licensed to own and carry guns. They fully exercise the legal right to protect their loved ones, themselves, and their own protect. To all that, I say excellent! I don’t have a molecule of grievance with any of these Americans and Georgians. I don’t spend a nanosecond of my time worrying about them or their guns. We’re all on one accord.
It’s the remaining 1% I’m very concerned about. The people engaged in the illegal selling of guns and ammunition. The people who use guns in the commission of violent crimes. Those who have a history of violence: such as domestic disputes, battery, assault, and the like. Those who stockpile weapons of mass murder (i.e. fully automatic machine guns, high capacity bullet drums, 3-D printed plastic guns which are virtually invisible by metal detectors, hollow point bullets, and so on).
Those who travel from state to state staging gun shows and peddling these types of weapons to the general public while refusing to run background checks on anyone. Those who use race baiting, scare tactics, and/or wild conspiracy theories about a certain President or a certain political party to artificially create a buyer’s market for guns. And of course, I’m extremely concerned about gun ownership by our citizens who are clinically depressed or otherwise mentally unstable.
If you’re in my 99% of responsible guns owners in America and in Georgia, I’m not talking to you. If you’re in my 99%, I’m not talking about you. This column calls into question the 1%. Those operating out in the fringe. Those who are deliberately breaking the law – and using guns to help them do it.
Folks, Georgia House Bill 875 is by far the most radical gun legislation proposed anywhere in America. If passed, Georgians could legally carry loaded weapons into libraries, airports, bars, churches, elementary schools, courthouses, and even unsecured government buildings. This is in addition to the laws already on the books allowing for guns in Georgia’s parks; as well as on public transportation within our state. Is nothing sacred? Is no place safe?
So you can legally carry a gun on a train in Georgia in 2014? You could do the very same thing on a train in Georgia in 1874. That isn’t progress, friends. That’s regress. We’re living in the new, Old West.
I long for the day when Georgia will be viewed by the country as a state of big ideas and unity. That day seems very far away to me right now.
I’m mailing printed copies of this particular Op-Ed to every single legislator at the state house in Atlanta. They must be reminded that hunters don’t hunt for deer with AR-15s. They must be reminded that the only thing people hunt for in a church is salvation. People didn’t carry guns into churches in the Old West out of r-e-s-p-e-c-t to G-o-d. Where’s that respect now?
Staff Writer; Arthur L. Jones, III
This talented brother is a local Minister, weekly featured Democratic Op-Ed columnist, non-profit advisor, and sees the Braves winning it all this fall. Rev. Jones welcomes your comments! Please email him directly at: tcdppress@gmail.com.
