This topic started in another thread but it was a bit off-topic, so I'm giving it a thread of its its own. Here was my reply that started it:
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Pornography has always been stigmatized. It has always, until very recently, been found almost exclusively in sleazy out-of-the way places. Buying it at the local convenience store is the aberration, not the other way around.
I don't think the founders of our Republic saw any contradiction in censoring such materials and the right to keep and bear arms. I don't either. That's why I'm not a Libertarian.
If we can't make the simple distinction between the necessary, God-given right to self-defense afforded by the most efficient personal weapons available -- guns -- and the "freedom" to engage in what are universally considered to be vices which erode the stability of our communities, then we've lost the war already.
It should be obvious: an increase in the number of folks who choose to engage in vices which have lost much of their old stigma will inevitably lead to more social break down resulting in more violence. This will only increase the cry of the naive and easily-swayed to rid their streets of guns to "make them safe."
I really don't believe the pornographers, casino operators, drug dealers and pimps are on our side.
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In response, Rosco P. Coltrain replied:
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adad,
Since you just fired off a full magazine of informational blanks, I thought I would inform you of several points.
Denmark has the most lax laws with respect to pornography, and as a result the lowest rates of sex crime in any western nation.
The freedom of speech is the freedom to say what is unpopular. The founding fathers were clearly opposed to censorship.
What you may call a vice might be part of my religion. Most Christian churches serve alcohol. The Catholic church organizes gambling events. The Mormons used to officially practice polygyny untill the federal government wrongly stepped in. Southwestern american-indian mystics used to consume peyote for spiritual enlightenment, untill the DEA wrongly stepped in.
You speak about god in your post. Is religious freedom important to you? Or is it just YOUR god that is important?
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So that's how it got started. I'll follow this post with my response to Mr. Coltrain.
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Wound ballistics is the study of effects on the body produced by penetrating projectiles:
Wound Ballistics
Great daily commentary from a thoughtful Christian perspective:
Daily Commentary
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Pornography has always been stigmatized. It has always, until very recently, been found almost exclusively in sleazy out-of-the way places. Buying it at the local convenience store is the aberration, not the other way around.
I don't think the founders of our Republic saw any contradiction in censoring such materials and the right to keep and bear arms. I don't either. That's why I'm not a Libertarian.
If we can't make the simple distinction between the necessary, God-given right to self-defense afforded by the most efficient personal weapons available -- guns -- and the "freedom" to engage in what are universally considered to be vices which erode the stability of our communities, then we've lost the war already.
It should be obvious: an increase in the number of folks who choose to engage in vices which have lost much of their old stigma will inevitably lead to more social break down resulting in more violence. This will only increase the cry of the naive and easily-swayed to rid their streets of guns to "make them safe."
I really don't believe the pornographers, casino operators, drug dealers and pimps are on our side.
----------
In response, Rosco P. Coltrain replied:
-----------
adad,
Since you just fired off a full magazine of informational blanks, I thought I would inform you of several points.
Denmark has the most lax laws with respect to pornography, and as a result the lowest rates of sex crime in any western nation.
The freedom of speech is the freedom to say what is unpopular. The founding fathers were clearly opposed to censorship.
What you may call a vice might be part of my religion. Most Christian churches serve alcohol. The Catholic church organizes gambling events. The Mormons used to officially practice polygyny untill the federal government wrongly stepped in. Southwestern american-indian mystics used to consume peyote for spiritual enlightenment, untill the DEA wrongly stepped in.
You speak about god in your post. Is religious freedom important to you? Or is it just YOUR god that is important?
----------
So that's how it got started. I'll follow this post with my response to Mr. Coltrain.
------------------
Wound ballistics is the study of effects on the body produced by penetrating projectiles:
Wound Ballistics
Great daily commentary from a thoughtful Christian perspective:
Daily Commentary