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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in guns

 Many Firearm Buyers and Sellers do not Comply with Assault Weapons Bans

 

Five words. That's all it would take to get Senate Republicans to support gun control.

Really: five. (Well, six, but “the” doesn't count.) You wouldn't necessarily even have to follow through: in this case, the mere prospect should suffice.

When, in this Summer of Mass Shootings, I heard a friend float this proposal, I was (OK, I'll just say it) blown away by its elegant simplicity.

Five words, you say? And just what are these five magic words?

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  • Jamie
    Jamie says #
    Mr. Posch, Solid gold! I used to be so hostile to the very idea of White privilege, having come from a poor, rural, and overwhel

Update: I finally admitted to myself that almost no one is going to take this survey. And that’s as it should be. It’s not safe to publicly discuss details of gun ownership online anymore. Big Brother is here.

 

I’m going to keep the post here anyway. Perhaps just reading it will be informative for someone, or otherwise useful to them. There are also a couple of comments that someone might find useful. Here is the post:

 

Are you a gun owner and Pagan? If your weapon is for self-defense (as opposed to, for example, hunting), please participate in this survey.

 

Its purpose is show a diversity of personal opinions, as well as their commonalities. I don’t believe personal viewpoints can ever  represent how other people should think or act. Instead, my hope is that folks sharing about the intersection of gun ownership and Paganism in their own lives will provide food for thought for folks who read this post, including those taking the survey. This mental stimulus might help someone gain greater clarity about what that intersection currently is in their own lives, whether they want to change it and, if so, what they want it to become.

 

Since I’m hoping to show diversity, some people might be puzzled by my not creating another survey for those who don’t own guns. My reason is twofold:

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  • Patricia Deneen
    Patricia Deneen says #
    Thanks for thinking of us. I mean that sincerely.
  • Francesca De Grandis
    Francesca De Grandis says #
    Patricia, I only received notice of your comment just now. Argh. Thank you for your kind support.
  • Anne Newkirk Niven
    Anne Newkirk Niven says #
    I'm Pagan, and a gun-owner. If you want to have a conversation on this topic, dearest one, you know where to find me. (I'm not goi
  • Francesca De Grandis
    Francesca De Grandis says #
    Ooh, Anne, a chance for another juicy phone call with you, thanks so much for offering it. Immediately prior to reading yr comme
  • Erin Lale
    Erin Lale says #
    Hi there. If you want to do an actual survey, I'd recommend posting a link to a survey. If you just want comments, here's mine. I'

Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs
We and Our Shadow

The generalism about eclipses is that in the darkness the sun and the moon meet the archetypal shadow element. What do we want to remain hidden? What do we want to keep secret from our deepest selves? While a Mercury retrograde period pushes us to stop pushing and hit the pause button, eclipse seasons are a call to hit the reset button.

In times of darkness and shadow one needs a wholesome dose of truth. I turn to Rebecca Solnit's essays in Hope in the Dark. Here is a quote to consider during eclipse seasons.

...
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Pagan News Beagle: Fiery Tuesday, June 21

Britons consider whether or not to leave the European Union. Controversy continues to embroil Brazil's government in the wake of corruption scandals. And the debate surrounding America's gun culture is explained. It's Fiery Tuesday, our weekly segment on political and societal news from around the world! All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

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Pagan News Beagle: Fiery Tuesday, October 13

American Indian / Native activists challenge the Catholic Church on its history with colonialism. A UN investigation determines that a majority of women suffer from online abuse worldwide. And report details the unequal access to education in parts of rural India. It's Fiery Tuesday, our weekly take on political and social news from around the world. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs

Today Connecticut is passing some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country. Approximately 60 pages of details about which long guns are now illegal, and when, where, and how people who have criminal and mental health issues may or may not have access to a firearm of any kind. In wading through the legalese, I looked and looked for something that, had it been in place before Newtown, would have stopped the murder of 26 people. I can’t find anything.

A conservative commentator, Bill Whittle, says,

We want to blame something, anything that we can control. But what we really want to ban is violence and murder and insanity, and we don’t talk about that because deep in our hearts we all know that violence and murder and insanity are built into the human condition, and likely always will be.

And I have to consider what I, as a Pagan, think about that statement. Of course I don’t believe in some Angra Mainyuesque power that pulls us toward horrible, despicable acts. But if we did not have any pull to do these things, we would not need ethics. Pagan gods provide many more obvious behavioral models than the monotheistic religions. We have plenty of warrior gods and goddesses, we have deities that destroy creation, and deities that make trouble. But we don’t condone rape because someone was possessed by Zeus, and we would not excuse a bomber because they said Kali wanted something destroyed.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Anne Newkirk Niven
    Anne Newkirk Niven says #
    I am so sorry you had such a distressing struggle with your step-daughter and glad that some of that burden has been lifted for yo
  • Selina Rifkin
    Selina Rifkin says #
    This is the first I have heard about any other mass killer having an autism spectrum disorder, and if this is common in the media,
  • Anne Newkirk Niven
    Anne Newkirk Niven says #
    Dear Selina, I was unaware you were a New Town resident. I cannot imagine how it feels to be a member of that community now. Just
  • Selina Rifkin
    Selina Rifkin says #
    I regret having offended but I would like to point out that I'm not the one who drew the connection. I live near, and work in Newt
  • Elani Temperance
    Elani Temperance says #
    As the daughter of a man diagnosed with aspergers, I, like Anne, wish you had taken a different approach on this subject. My fathe

Posted by on in Paths Blogs

So, I wasn't going to write about this. It irks me when I feel the need to respond to the latest community fad. But it got under my skin and now I feel the need to offer my perspective, biased and unpopular though it may be. I am talking about the latest issue of guns, gun possession and gun control that's doing the rounds.

I could write about the Pagan perspective of this, I could give you an opinion the ancients Greeks may have had on guns, but I won't. Because guns aren't a 'Pagan thing', they are a human thing, crossing the boundaries of religion and politics. Trying to explain why guns should be allowed or banned by citing religious or political reasons only serves to muddle the subject and provide excuses to hide behind. So what came before and what follows is all my opinion. It's not Hellenic, it's not anything but me, on my soapbox.

It started with a post by Literata, writing about the toxicity of guns to their environment. Then another blog post arose, written by Lauren DeVoe. This time, the post was in defense of gun possession. What I am about to write is not about these authors; they are merely sharing their own side of the coin. As I will do. This is about the issue at large.

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  • Wendy L. Callahan
    Wendy L. Callahan says #
    This is precisely how I feel. To me, guns exist only to harm another creature. While I realize other people feel safer or more c

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