In the hourlong sermon based on an Old Testament passage, Detective Grayson Fritts, also a pastor at All Scripture Baptist Church in Knoxville, told his congregation June 2 that he believes that federal, state and county governments should arrest, try, convict and "speedily" execute people within the LGBTQ community on no more grounds than a cell phone photo of a person participating in a Pride event.First off, I normally don't use the names of asswipes like Fritts in my posts. But this turdlet deserves all the notoriety that he can get.
And this:
Fritts took a voluntary buyout two weeks ago after giving the June 2 sermon. He is on paid sick leave until the buyout takes effect July 19, Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler said Wednesday. Fritts said the buyout was not related to his sermons.In a pig's eye it wasn't related to his preaching of hate.
Funny how all those G_d-fearing folks will rail against gay people but then go chow down on a pulled-pork sandwich.
But let's leave that aside.
The law and the LGBT community have had a distrustful relationship. Cops have, up until recently, had a reputation for raiding gay bars for bullshit reasons. Some agencies have worked hard to try and change that image, which is why you'll sometimes see police brass marching (or float-riding) in Pride parades.
Fritts has done his best to damage that.
For a very long time, LGBT people have known (or believed) that they cannot expect to be treated fairly by the cops or the courts. The "gay panic defense" is a symptom of that. Openly LGBT people have known for a long time that crimes against them often will not be taken seriously by the cops or the courts. States are slowly trying to fix that.
I suspect that Fritts is not a real outlier.
An older definition of the word "outlaw" was "a person who is outside of the protection of the law." In that sense, being LGBT is basically, to some degree, being an outlaw. Someone robs, rapes, kills you, the cops and the courts are not going to take your being a victim as seriously as they will John Straight Whitebread. To an extent, you are on your own.
Hence the need to own a gun, know how to use it, and to get a carry permit if your state allows such.
19 cops shot to death as of the middle of May.
ReplyDeleteOfficer Buechner was responding to a domestic-disturbance call when a suspect fired on him and two other officers. Buechner, who had served the department for 13 years, was killed. The other officers were wounded but were expected to recover.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/02/07/us/2019-officers-killed-trnd/index.html
Fun bang tools have no protective powers, even for LEO going into a dangerous situation .
So there is, in a somewhat twisted way, a morsel of true in DA’s somewhat unhinged rant. There is much more truth in our Comrade’s observation. While it is a simple truth that those into/around/with firearms are more likely to be injured/killed by a firearm, much of that risk is mitigated by simple action and awareness...unfortunately, very little of this kind of thing is common in these United States. Much more common, especially these days, is bigotry, dehumanization and attacks on outsiders.
ReplyDeleteWhile I have a handgun for self-defense, it is properly stored and secured, while still being easily accessible. Seldom trouble myself to travel with it, relying more upon awareness and choice. If I ever find my self planning to go to a place where I think “do I need to carry”, I usually decide it’s not important to go there (Now, that choice is a luxury for many in the USofA). Other times I have to engage in careful research to properly understand the other jurisdictions laws with regards to carrying or transporting firearms. To me this is second nature, but to many it is an alien concept...and we are paying a price in blood for that.
Much as I hate Comrade’s conclusion, as many of those choosing to arm themselves will not properly train themselves, it is certainly correct in the USofA today!
Gay panic. I've read of soldiers, trained to be deadly in armed and unarmed combat, gay panic-ing and always wondered: what can a man trained to be deadly have to fear and fear to the point of becoming unhinged, berserk murderous panic from somebody gay? Is it a deathly fear that gayness is somehow communicable? Or something like a fear of spiders and snakes and rodents (EEK! it's a spider, kill it!) Or is all that deadly male dominating muscularity afraid in some unmanning way? Where's the courage?
ReplyDeleteMy personal exemplar of courage has been my mother: almost totally paralyzed when I was one, she lived for 40 years in the flaccid husk of body sustained by guts, grit, spirit and love. That's real courage. Gay panic is infantile, culturally deranged insecurity acting out, and the very opposite of courage:cowardice.
I admit that many Christians do indeed treat LGBTQ persons with distrust and anger, spite, and just plain unChristian behavior. However, as a Christian myself, I must say that there are many of us who understand that God loves everyone, and in fact loves us all equally. The Bible says that He showed how much He loves us by sending His Son to die for us while we were still sinners.
ReplyDeleteI am a student of the Bible, actually I attended Bible college many years ago. And I have gone through many things in my life that have allowed me to learn that God actually has much more to say about not liking hypocrites than He does about the homosexual behavior of anyone. The Hypocrite is the major reason that many people are turned off by Christianity, and a belief in God.
I could talk for a long time about how it is not how God intended things to be, with Christians, or at least people who call themselves Christians, going around and condemning people for any behavior that they find uncomfortable. People tend to be quick to point out things that make them uncomfortable, like homosexual behavior, but ignore other things that are also against what the Bible speaks of, such as gossiping, or not raising your children properly, or not paying your bills on time, etc.
I think that people condemn things that they fear. And many people fear what they don't understand, and homosexual behavior is one thing that they don't understand. The Pulse nightclub shooting was a major story, and struck a huge nerve in the gay community. Before the next day was over, Erin Palette had started a movement, which culminated in the group called Operation Blazing Sword, a group of all volunteers who will train anyone, gay, or straight, or transgendered, without any judgement as to the lifestyle of the person, and at our own expense, so that a LGBTQ person can have the chance to be exposed to the gun community, and to the possibility to decide if they want to pursue a concealed carry permit so they can defend themselves against harm.
Recently, the other group that has been outfront of the issue helping the gay community, the Pink Pistols, has merged with OBS, and they are now both represented by Erin Palette.
While there are of course many Christians who are simply horrible towards the gay community, I just wish to point out that there are some of us who don't judge anyone, no matter their sexual orientation, but instead are concerned with our own sinful nature, and are willing to help anyone who needs help, especially in learning how to defend themselves. I will put a link here to Operation Blazing Sword, in case anyone wishes to look for an instructor in their area. And wish you all the best of luck, and safety in your daily walk.http://www.blazingsword.org/
That’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me today, CP. I might add that I do support training in unarmed combat, and that I come from hunters on both sides of my family, and am a decent shot with a .45.
ReplyDelete