You forgot the rest of the 2nd Amendment. Amendment IIA well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. It clearly states the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. I, as an American, have a right to own a weapon, period.

Great video on Gun Control https://www.facebook.com/rik.sexton/videos/4123638147897/ I've been in the military over 24 years and counting, I've been a police officer for over 20 years and counting. I have personally seen the good and bad that guns can bring. I totally support the U.S. Constitution, 2nd Amendment. The 2nd Amendment should end this discussion. There are already enough regulations on the books. We cannot continue to erode our freedoms.. Have a wonderful day :patriot:

This is an interesting question. I remember when I was in Middle School, many years ago, and the teacher asked a similar question to the class. "Does the consumer control the market or does the market control the consumer?" I laughed and said, "of course, the consumer controls the market", but now that I'm in my 50's I'm not so sure. I now believe businesses spend millions on swaying our views and they are very effective at doing so. The internet tracks your searches and tailors your ads to get you to purchase the items you are interested in. We all could think of many examples of this. Growing up I remember several items that were pushed and sold big, like Parachute Pants, Pet Rock, etc....and I look back at those items and laugh. Crazy how people get manipulated into thinking something is cool thru marketing. :patriot:

If you own guns, teach your children the proper way to handle one. Here are several stories were children used a weapon to save lives. http://crimeresearch.org/2014/08/given-the-debate-over-the-9-year-old-with-a-gun-some-examples-of-children-who-used-guns-to-defend-lives-of-family-members/ Someone earlier got it right. The 2nd Amendment provides us the right to own a weapon, but with that right comes responsibility. Teach your kids and also keep you weapon in a safe location if possible. :patriot:

Uh, mass knife murders do happen. http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/01/world/asia/china-railway-attack/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka_school_massacre http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/06/26/mass-murder-by-knife-at-least-27-dead-after-violent-mobs-attack-police-others-in-west-china/ Just saying... :patriot:

Again, we will get the details over the next few weeks. Muslim, targeting Christians, or just your everyday run of the mill nut case. Time will tell us soon enough. There were plenty of witnesses and survivors to piece it together.

Well, this article says different. http://joeforamerica.com/2015/10/eyewitness-says-oregon-mass-murderer-shot-christians-in-the-head-others-in-the-legs/ It says more than one witness claimed the shooter was targeting Christians. I guess as time goes by we will learn more about what happened, but it sure looks like he did from the early witnesses. Part of the article clearly says the shooter was targeting Christians.: -Eyewitness: “The shooter was lining people up and asking if they were Christian. If they said yes, then they were shot in the head. If they said no, or didn’t answer, they were shot in the legs. My grandma just got to my house, and she was in the room. She wasn’t shot, but she is very upset…†Kortney Moore, an 18-year-old student at Umpqua Community College who was also in the room, told Oregon’s News Review that the shooter was indeed on the hunt for Christians.- Bottom line is, we will get a clearer picture in a week or so when most or all of what happened comes out.

The New York Post has a good story on this. Apparently, if you said you were a Christian then you were shot in the head, and if you said nothing or no then you were shot legs. Sounds like he was singling out Christians to me. http://nypost.com/2015/10/01/oregon-gunman-singled-out-christians-during-rampage/

Yes, is always the answer....unless a no is required. Moto Moto says it. The answer is always YES, unless a no is required.

This makes a good point. The point is about the courts. My 20 plus years of Law Enforcement has taught me that the courts are broke. The criminal has more rights than the victim in many cases. I have seen many domestic violence cases (for example) were the perp is given a slap on the hand. Many more DUI cases were the person is arrested 4,5 or sometimes 6 times before jail time is given. This varies in different states but here in Kentucky the law is more and more lax. Politicians, Lawyers, County/City budgets, judges wanting to get re-elected, all play in the reason our justice system is in serious need of a coming to Jesus moment...lol. The only answer I have is the same as I wrote before...I serious infusion of morals into our society. The courts let people out of jail faster than police officers can finish the reports in many cases. very sad, but true. It has been several years now, maybe 10 or so, but I remember arresting a person for DUI (Driving under the influence of Alcohol) and he was clearly drunk. He blow well over the legal limit. I was called because he had hit a pole. I arrested the person, and as I was completing the paperwork the person was walking out of the jail. Someone bailed him out..lol. So I went back to his car and waited down the street. Guess where he went? yep, back to his car! As he drove away, I pulled him over a 2nd time, within 2 hours and arrested him a 2nd time for DUI. He was still well over the legal limit. crazy. When it went to court he complained and the judge dropped the 2nd DUI and merged the two charges. I was not happy, but that's our court system. :patriot:

Wikipedia definition of Gun Culture in America. Interesting... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_culture_in_the_United_States :patriot:

:iagree: This is a great point. I wish I would have added it to my post. :thumbup1:

My thoughts: I've served my country in Iraq, Afghanistan and currently serve my community as a Narcotics Detective and I strongly appose banning guns. I have sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution and find it alarming when citizens just want to give up their rights (and mine) so they can feel safer. Gun Free Zones are a joke. They only help the criminal find easy victims. Chicago is a great example. The answer? good question. There are no easy answers. As our society moves further from morals, excepts deviant behavior as the norm, the society as a whole will become more violent. Maybe the answer is easy, instill morals, but that would be Politically Incorrect. So expect the mass shooting to continue, but don't blame the guns. :patriot:

Here's an interesting study. http://crimeresearch.org/2013/12/murder-and-homicide-rates-before-and-after-gun-bans/ The study found that banning guns, England did in January 1997, did not lower the murder/manslaughter rate in the country. In fact, the study found that the murder rate went up, then bounced around but is still higher than when the ban took place.. I believe the U.S. Constitution should have the final say on this issue. :patriot:

:grouphug: praying for the victims and their families.

I'm coming to a close in my Law Enforcement career but I clearly remember when I started 20 years ago. The first piece of advice I would offer would be not to major in Law Enforcement. You can take LE classes or minor in it, but having a college degree is what LE departments like to see (Sociology,Management, etc). LE departments also likes military experience, even if it's reserve/guard experience. They also like honest, mature, Type A personalities. Your son cannot be passive or scared to take on a challenge. He will be in many conflicts as a police officer, so it's imperative that he learns to handle conflict, stay in good shape, and train. Your son also needs to understand that he will have an opportunity to help many people BUT that there are many out there that don't want help or can't be helped. Don't take it personally. Another issue, that is not politically correct but true is dealing with racial/cultural issues. He must understand that there are people out there that will hate him because he is a police officer. Black officers are called uncle toms and the N word by drunks, Whites are called cracker, other races are also called names. It will happen. Again, don't take it personally. Let me end on a good note: Looking back over my 20 years as a police office, it has been extremely rewarding overall. I've gotten to help many, do many different jobs, Narcotics Detective is my current position, has been my favorite. If LE is what your son wants than support his dream! Jim :patriot:

:iagree: I served in Afghanistan from 2010-11. I spent most of my time in Bagram, but got to see a lot of the country. I interacted with the local population on many occasions and they are truly a different culture. The country is mostly nasty, but has some beautiful mountains. As far as the Government goes it's very corrupt and there are very few, if any chain store type businesses. Most our local. The thing I remember mostly was how poor everyone was, how small everyone was, and I often wondered why anyone would want to live there. Thank God I was born in America! :patriot: PS- If the American public knew all that was going on in Afghanistan...wow...They would be very upset. I was....I was glad to leave and still wonder why we ever went in in the first place.

In my 20 years and counting of law enforcement, I've been to many, many domestic violence calls. Though similar calls can have different circumstances, from what I read here this one is a simple call. The police officers were called to this residence and it's a domestic violence situation. Whether the wife was unharmed or not upon the officers arrival doesn't mean that it couldn't quickly escalate. I've seen calm situations turn quickly, especially Domestic Violence calls. It is crucial that the officers have situation resolved before they leave. Either one of the persons leave, someone is arrested, or both persons are calm and agree that no further arguing will continue. The police were called and it's their job to resolve this situation. The husband running back into the house, locking the door, and saying police can't enter is not resolving the situation. This husband's conviction should stand. The officers were correct in going in this residence. Hopefully the wife is ok and obtained a restraining order or a Domestic Violence Order to keep him away. :patriot:

I'm sorry, but being a detective, this story is suspicious. I would start by interviewing the victim (of course). Ask him if he knew the four men? if he owed anyone money? and get a complete (step by step) story of what happened. I would then get the video at the bank, which should tell a lot. More than likely there will be a plate number of the suspect vehicle and video/pictures of the suspects. If this case is real, I'm suspicious, it would be easy to solve. It's an extremely rare case, but possible. I have learned in my 20 years of Law Enforcement, most cases (if not all) have simple reasons for happening, ie - kid ran out of money, spent the money, or kid is ashamed to tell parents the truth for some reason and there is that 1% chance it really happened.. Not saying it didn't happen, I just think this case would be easily solved no matter the circumstance. This would also be in the paper, can you post the link to the article? JW :patriot:

I'm in Kentucky and this situation would not fit the Sexual Abuse 1st or 2nd. http://www.lrc.ky.gov/statutes/statute.aspx?id=19768 http://www.lrc.ky.gov/statutes/statute.aspx?id=40852 It also doesn't fit the KRS Rape statue. I does however fit this KRS 510.140 Sexual misconduct (1) A person is guilty of sexual misconduct when he engages in sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse with another person without the latter's consent. (2) Sexual misconduct is a Class A misdemeanor. Effective: January 1, 1975 History: 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 94, effective January 1, 1975. I could see an attorney arguing for this charge claiming the victim never gave to consent. This is a Class A Misdemeanor, which if convicted she could serve 6-12 in jail. Now, I've been in LE for over 20 years and I know my way around a court room. I've also dealt with many lawyers. It's my opinion that she can file a complaint but she won't win. It would be interesting to follow this case just to see the outcome, But, IMO she loses and loses big. :patriot:

Great Topic! I"m looking forward to Supergirl, Heroes, Agents of Shield, and I'm hoping Agent Carter will be good. I won't have time to watch them all, but I will watch them when I can. It's not a TV series but my family is looking forward to the upcoming Star Wars movie! I bet it will be EPIC!! (as my 10 yr old ds would say) :lurk5: :patriot:

Good topic, I have been in Law Enforcement for 20 years now. I have also been in the Army Reserves for nearly 24 years. This would be my advise for anyone getting into Law Enforcement: 1-Get a degree first. Any degree will give you a leg up on the competition and Computer Science would be an excellent degree. A Law Enforcement degree is not necessary. 2- Get in shape. There are many people on the street that will challenge you and you won't always be able to talk your way out of a fight. I've been in several, most officers have. Some people fight due to alcohol, stress, mental state, etc. 3-Ride a longs are good to get to know what cops do. You WILL start out on the street, everyone does, but there are many jobs inside a police department (bigger the department, more job areas) Example - horse patrol, bike patrol, detective, etc. 4-I suggest going into the Military Guard/Reserve. I did and it was a great decision. I will now have two retirement incomes. NOTE: Most police officers have to get a second job after they retire because a police retirement isn't always great. Here in KY the retirement isn't too bad, but many police officers still have to get a second job. Something to think about. Also, with military experience you will get another leg up on your competition. I did Army Basic Training while still in college. 5-Keep a clean criminal record. Police departments don't like criminals...duh. So, don't get a DUI, Shoplifting, Excessive speeding tickets, drug charges, etc, etc. Don't get me wrong, you can have a couple of speeding tickets, juvenile stuff...just don't have too many. 6-Now to the part that is not Politically Correct. Some people on the street will not like you because you are a police officer. There are many people, I'd run into several times over the years, that will hate you because you wear the uniform. Sorry, but that's reality. Hate towards the police is growing. Just know that, continue to do your job, and have thick skin. 7-Make sure your family is supportive, especially your spouse. Final thoughts - Being a cop is extremely rewarding and you get the opportunity to help a lot of people. It's great to help others! It makes it worth being a cop. The Bad - You will get into fights, some in the public will hate you, pay isn't the best, high stress, and unknown countless other things. When I applied for police officer jobs, it was many years ago, I had a 4-year degree and I was in the Army Reserves (still am). This made it easy to get a police officer job. Today, applying for a police officer job is more competitive. A degree is vital and military would help a lot. Good luck with this career choice. It's a good one!! Jim W :patriot:

Cool topic! I would have to list eating out first. We tend to do that more than we should. We also like the Beach! We are traveling to Oak Island, NC in two weeks and it's always a good trip. We live in Kentucky, so a beach trip is a big treat. I also take a couple of the kids camping in Michigan during the month of May. It's funny, the kids would rather camp in the middle of the woods for 5 days than go to the beach...lol. kids.. But, if I hit the lottery (I don't play so I won't) I would love to travel and see the world. That would be exciting. Thanks for the topic. :patriot:

Great Topic! I'm always looking for a good movie to watch. Here are some suggestions my and my kids came up with for you. The Lost Boys (vampire movie with great music and storyline) Equilibrium Avengers Movie Chicken Run (excellent/funny animated movie) Firefly (series) Farscape (series) This series is a little better than Firefly. and Dr. Who (series) The above are a good mix of movies that my kids thought were excellent. My kids are 17,14,12,10, so they should work for your kids too. :o) Enjoy! :patriot:

Don't forget the adult beverages! If you plan on not going anywhere, I would take my favorite adult beverage with me to go with my many snacks. Enjoy your me time and relax! :cheers2: