Texas lawmakers are hypocrites. They giveth and taketh away in the same breath. They’ve passed the most stringent abortion bans, even before SCOTUS ruled against Roe. I maintain that’s a good thing in and of itself, but abortion bans should take in account the exceptions for rape, incest, and the health of the mother and/or her fetus. But, at the same time, they’ve (Republicans) made it easier to possess and openly carry armed weapons which wasn’t struck down later by SCOTUS.

Now I’m quite in favor of arming teachers for the immediate protection of their students in critical situations (especially when police enforcement substantially hesitates to intervene in a timely manner–Robb Elementary in Uvalde). But to allow almost everyone to openly pack is just asking for trouble. Especially so if the age for sale of guns isn’t increased across the board from 18 to 21.

Just this week a man legally shouldering an AR-15 rifle in a mall located in an open carry state was arrested on a flimsy charge that he “frighten” others by his mere appearance. Now imagine nearly all the people in a particular mall openly totting AR-15 rifles (including yourself). Would that make you any less anxious than no guns openly carried? I didn’t think so. The more guns, the more likelihood of things going south in a heartbeat.

This depicted youth in this graphic is totting a JR-15 rifle. This is a beginner’s model of the heavier AR-15. AR-15 gun enthusiasts wean their children on this “childlike” model. Is this the message we Americans want to send to our children? Be prepared to kill or be killed? Survival of the fittest? All things are legal, but not all things are beneficial. I Corinthians 10:23 Yes, we may have a constitutional right to bear arms in America, but I’m wondering if the Japanese have a better grasp on how to survive in a world of escalating violence of the gun. Japan has a murder rate of 0.03 per 1000,000 people in 2011. Our was 4.7. Japan has some of the most restrictive gun control laws of any nation, and there’s no constitutional right to bear arms. Does that seem like a lot to give up in order to have your kids survive?

Personally speaking, my wife and I don’t have kids, but I’d be more than willing to give up my constructional right to have arms in order that your kids might have a better chance to survive into adulthood.