Quote of the Day

From Humans of New York

"I've been a deep believer my whole life. 

18 years as a Southern Baptist. 

More than 40 years as a mainline Protestant. I'm an ordained pastor. 

But it's just stopped making sense to me. You see people doing terrible things in the name of religion, and you think: 'Those people believe just as strongly as I do. They're just as convinced as I am.' And it just doesn't make sense anymore. 

It doesn't make sense to believe in a God that dabbles in people's lives. 

If a plane crashes, and one person survives, everyone thanks God. They say: 'God had a purpose for that person. God saved her for a reason!' Do we not realize how cruel that is? Do we not realize how cruel it is to say that if God had a purpose for that person, he also had a purpose in killing everyone else on that plane? And a purpose in starving millions of children? 

A purpose in slavery and genocide? 

For every time you say that there's a purpose behind one person's success, you invalidate billions of people. You say there is a purpose to their suffering. And that's just cruel."

"More Guns!", Kansas

WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita Police say a toddler died after he was accidentally shot by his four-year-old brother.

Just before 2 p.m. Tuesday, 911 received a call about a shooting. The caller was extremely upset, and dispatchers were unable to get a location from the man. Moments later, two men showed up at Wesley Medical Center with a 1-year-old child who had been shot in the chest.

Officers learned the shooting happened in a bedroom of a home in the 1300 block of North Pennsylvania, near 13th Street and I-135.

Police say three children: a four-year-old boy, a three-year-old girl and a 19-month old boy, were in a bedroom when the oldest child opened a nightstand that contained a loaded 9mm handgun. Lt. Todd Ojile says the child didn't pick up the gun, but was able to pull the trigger.

The 19-month-old, Tomarion, was standing near the nightstand and was shot in the chest.

The 33-year-old father of the children and his 22-year-old brother were in the living room when the shooting happened. Both men took the child to the hospital, where he died about 45 minutes later.

Link to full story with video: 

Police: Wichita toddler shot, killed by 4-year-old brother

And then there are the studies: 

 

Study: Guns in home increase suicide, homicide risk

But this is America, after all.

The answer? Nothing. We will learn nothing

From The Huffington Post today: NRA Instructor Shoots Student: What Can We Learn? When an NRA safety instructor accidentally shoots a student in one of his classes, is it a teachable moment about guns in America? I am referring to an incident reported in the Orlando Sentinel in which a person attending a National Rifle Association class for applicants for concealed carry licenses was shot when his instructor's gun accidentally discharged during the class. The bullet penetrated a table before hitting the victim, who fortunately recovered from his wound. I think it's safe to say that the NRA instructor in this case is unlikely to appear in future "I'm the NRA" promotional ads. Here we have an individual, who the NRA itself has decided is such an expert in safe gun handling that he can teach a class in it, nevertheless accidentally discharging his weapon in a public place and wounding an innocent person. If this can happen to the instructor, what can we expect from his students, who presumably will be carrying their concealed guns on the streets? Back to me: We will learn from this, as a nation, exactly what we learned from the Vietnam War--nothing. Again, nothing. Sorry, that's my take on it. I am sadly, frustratingly convinced that's what we'll get from this. Link to original post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis-a-henigan/nra-instructor-shoots-stu_b_680349.html