My heart goes out to the victims of this tragedy, their families, and the people of Orlando. At about 2am Sunday (June 12th) a man named Omar Mateen entered a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando and opened fire. According to the ATF he was armed with two weapons, a .223 caliber Sig Sauer MCX Carbine and a 9mm handgun. Both were semi-automatic. During this massacre 49 people were killed and 53 wounded. A hostage standoff with police was over by 6am, when they killed the gunman. Law enforcement officials told Fox News he “was heard shouting ‘Allah Akbar’ while engaging officers.” Mateen also dialed 911 prior to the attack and swore allegiance to ISIS. 

     This was the deadliest mass shooting in American history and the worst terrorist attack in the United States since 9/11. It is simply not enough to hold hands, sing kumbaiyah, put out some feel-good Twitter hashtags and Facebook posts then pretend everything will be okay. This barbaric jihad is part of a growing and disturbing trend. Innocent people have been slaughtered by Muslim terrorists in Chattanooga, San Bernadino, Brussels, Paris and now Orlando. All that carnage occurred in less than a one year period. Before that it was the Boston Marathon in 2013, Fort Hood in 2009, London’s Subway in 2005, the 9/11 attacks, the World Trade Center in 1993, Beirut in 1983, the ’72 Munich Olympics and numerous airline attacks throughout the early 1970’s among others (< for certain attacks I linked to a detailed summary, as some may be too young to remember or just want more info). Jihadis slaughter peaceful civilians all over the Middle East on a daily basis. Groups like ISIS and the Iranian government are modern day Nazis, or as conservative radio host Mark Levin has correctly labeled them: “Islamonazis”.

      America’s battle against guerilla Islam goes all the way back to 1803 when Thomas Jefferson stood up to piracy in North Africa. Long story short America fought a war against the Barbary States and won victoriously. That type of bold, yet thoughtful leadership displayed by Jefferson is lacking in the White House today. 

     Radical Islamic terrorism is currently the most daunting national security threat to America and her allies. Clearly it is not being properly addressed by this President. The same can be said about most of his counterparts in Western Europe, particularly Angela Merkel. I don’t claim to know all the right answers to stop this mayhem. Yet I can tell you with certainty that more gun control and lecturing of American citizens about “Islamophobia” is extremely counterproductive. 

     America and the world are much less safe as a result of the policies of President Obama and Secretary Clinton, who have put us in a dangerously vulnerable position. In 2011 the President ignored his advisors, rapidly withdrew American forces from Iraq and neglected to reach a status of forces agreement with the Iraqi government. The sudden absence of the U.S. Military created a power vacuum in Iraq and Syria that ultimately led to the rise of ISIS. 

ISIS militants throw a gay man off of a roof in Ninevah, Northern Iraq.

      The US Air Force should be carpet bombing Raqqa. Instead we have Obama and Hillary rallying against the 2nd Amendment. I was disturbed that in the wake of this catastrophe President Obama appeared furious at Republicans criticizing his failure to acknowledge the problem of radical Islam, yet seemed calm and unemotional while addressing the worst terrorist attack against America since 9/11.    

     Fortunately there were a few great leaders who properly honored the victims. Texas Senator Ted Cruz gave a phenomenal speech Thursday, lambasting Democrats for focusing on gun control instead of terrorism. “You don’t defeat terrorism by taking away guns,” he said, “you defeat terrorism by using guns.”

     Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in part, “In Syria, ISIS throws gays off rooftops. In Iran, the regime hangs gays from cranes. Too many people have remained silent in the face of this awful persecution. This week’s shooting wasn’t merely an attack on the LGBT community. It was an attack on all of us, on our common values of freedom and diversity and choice…I have no doubt that those who seek to spread hate and fear will be defeated.”

     This link contains the names, photos and some brief biographical information about each of the 49 who were killed. It’s an agonizing reminder that these were individuals with family and friends like anyone else, not just faceless statistics.

Gun Control Part Of The Problem, Not The Solution                                                               

      Think about where these mass shootings are taking place: movie theaters, elematary schools, concert halls, even US Military bases. What do most of these locations have in common? They’re “gun free” zones mandated by state/federal/local laws or corporate policies. In sync with the trend of mass shootings, state law prohibited patrons of the Pulse nightclub from carrying weapons. That shooting happened not long after singer Christina Grimmie, a top contestant on NBC’s The Voice, was tragically murdered at a concert in Orlando – another place in Florida where law abiding citizens were not allowed to protect themselves. 

     Studies from the Crime Prevention Research Center show that, “Since at least 1950, only slightly over 1 percent of mass public shootings have occurred where general citizens have been able to defend themselves.” Somewhat surprisingly, these researchers also found no evidence of increased violence in states that allow the concealed carry of handguns in bars and restaurants that serve large quantities of alcohol.

     Democrats squawk that “we need stricter background checks”. They act like Gander Mountain is handing out guns as carelessly as California gives out driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. Most gun control advocates have never endured the process of purchasing a firearm, and have no idea about the time and several pages of forms that entails. There is no “gun show loophole”, those vendors conduct background checks just like any store or pawn shop. I believe the current system is sufficient, actually too strict in many states.

     “If the FBI is watching you for suspected terrorist links, you shouldn’t be able to just go buy a gun,” Hillary Clinton said (probably screeched) in a recent speech. If the FBI is investigating you for violating the Espionage Act by placing highly classified information on an unsecured private server, you probably shouldn’t be able to buy a gun or run for President. 

      Hence what we really need are more background checks on politicians before they take office – like our current President, who used to hangout with the domestic terrorist and former Weather Underground member Bill Ayers. Let’s not forget the other Clinton, a serial sexual predator and alleged rapist. Was he was properly vetted before taking on the Presidency?

      Evil idealogies are far more dangerous than any AR-15, machine gun, hand grenade or nuclear bomb. 

      In 2013 Democratic Congresswoman Diana DeGette pushed legislation to ban high capacity magazines. Degette is so ignorant she didn’t know that a firearm magazine can be reloaded and reused. 

    What sounds scarier to you: a crazy man with a knife shouting “death to America”, or a convenience store owner who keeps a Glock under his cash register? Evil idealogies are far more dangerous than any AR-15, machine gun, hand grenade or nuclear bomb. 

     No restrictive gun legislation would’ve prevented this tragedy. Heartless monsters will attempt to inflict widespread pain and suffering no matter what, and they don’t necessarily need guns to do it either. Whether it’s fertilizer in Oklahoma City, box cutters on 9/11, or pressure cookers in Boston; psychopaths will find a way to hurt us, which brings me to my next point… 

Warning Signs Get Ignored

    The first step in taking care of a problem requires those solving it to be rigorously honest and forthright about what it is. Barack Obama has utterly failed to do that. Obviously I know that the overwhelming majority of Muslims are good people, which is why I use the term “radical Islam” to begin with. As Rick Santorum wisely said back in December, “Here’s the reality, not all Muslims are jihadists, but all jihadists are Muslims. We can’t be politically correct to the point where we ignore that reality.”

     Neighbors of Sayed Farook, the San Bernadino shooter, said they noticed suspicious activity at Farook’s home and “wanted to report it” but “didn’t want to profile”. So 14 innocent Americans are dead because a few people were afraid of being considered racist.  

     But even when federal authorities are given the information necessary to prevent these mass murders, it has a slight tendency to fall on deaf ears. For instance in 2014 NBC and Reuters reported that, “Russian authorities warned the FBI in 2011 about Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of two Chechen brothers accused of carrying out last year’s Boston Marathon bombings, but U.S. authorities missed chances to detain him.” 

     According to The Daily Caller, the FBI basically took Omar Mateen off their radar because they believed his coworkers who alerted them only did so as an act of bigotry. This is one of many examples proving the point that preventing those on “terror watch lists” or “no fly lists” from purchasing firearms would be ineffective, not to mention a gross violation of due process rights. 

      America needs a lot less gun control and a lot more immigration control. The hijackers on 9/11 gained entry to the US because the State Department failed to properly review their visa applications. According to ABC News, “The political journal National Review obtained the visa applications for 15 of the 19 hijackers — and evidence that all of them should have been denied entry to the country.”

    Don’t get me wrong, there are thousands of courageous patriots serving in all levels and agencies of law enforcement. The Obama Administration has hindered them (and our Military) from being able to properly protect us. Half the time it’s like they’re fighting crime with one hand tied behind their backs. 

Moving Forward 

     We, as citizens, need to be mindful and observant of what’s going on around us. That doesn’t mean using night vision goggles to spy on your neighbors. But if you see something overly suspicious, report it to local law enforcement. If possible, obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Keep it with you where and when it is legal and practical to do so. 

     If you ever do find yourself in a situation like what happened at Pulse, there are actions you can take to stop the shooter. Self defense experts with TheBlaze made a great video on how to best handle that type of scenario.

      Get active in politics. Vote for politicians who will defend the 2nd Amendment and make national security a top priority. Other than that all we can do is pray for the victims and pray for the continued strength of brave men and women in law enforcement and the military. Without them, attacks like this would probably happen multiple times a week.

— American Exceptionalism 

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