2nd Amendment

February 15, 2018

Prayer for Students and Families of Broward County, FL

The news of the senseless slaughter of innocent young lives in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, Wednesday afternoon, February 14, 2018 dominates the news this morning.  As of this morning, the death toll remains at 17 and the names of the dead, students and teachers, has not been released.

Like you, I am aware the tragedy of the loss of life reaches far beyond the dead…siblings, parents, grandparents, friends, classmates, teachers, administrators, neighbors, and yes, our state and nation…are all affected and scarred by the violence, suffering and death.

Liberal pundits will stand in their bully-pulpits and blame firearms for the loss of life.  The media and anti-liberty zealots opposed to the 2nd Amendment, will attack the NRA and conservatives, and advocate the need to limit, if not eliminate private ownership of guns and rifles.

Few will look deeper and honestly examine why this happened.  Why 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, a former student expelled last school year from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, would plan and unleash a hail of gunfire on students of his former high school?

We are learning Cruz’s life is scarred as much as the wounds he inflicted on innocent lives Wednesday.  USA Today reports, “teachers and former classmates say [Cruz] had an angry disposition that led to him being expelled and flagged as a danger on school grounds.”

Former classmates describe Cruz as a troubled soul and many say they are not surprised he unleashed his fury in an act of violence. According to Fox News, an unnamed student told a news station, “kids joked around that the student [Cruz] would be the one to ‘shoot up the school.’”

Cruz is a troubled soul and tragedy seems to have been the haunt of his life.  Fox News reports Cruz and a younger brother were adopted and both his father and mother, Roger and Lynda Cruz, are dead.  Roger apparently died of a heart attack several years ago and Cruz’s mother, Lynda, died of pneumonia November 1, 2017.  Unhappy with family members who took him in, sometime after Thanksgiving 2017, Cruz moved into a mobile home with a high school friend who is a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Cruz’s anger, rage and violence are pandemic in a generation educated in classrooms and nurtured in a society with an irreligious view of human life.  The doctrine that human life is sacred and every life is to be cherished is lost on a generation that mocks God, denies the Creator, and is entertained with acts of violence in video games and television programs from early childhood.

I am not surprised a 19-year-old murdered 17 classmates; I am surprised it does not happen more often.  Look into the eyes of today’s youth and you will find many who appear soulless…unloved and unloving; desensitized by bitterness, rejecting authority, angry with God, and waiting to be triggered into an act of rage that will not only destroy their lives and future, but leave countless others broken and dismayed.

Remembering Cain, the first son of Adam, murdered his brother Abel (Genesis 4:8), we understand the problem is not guns and rifles; the problem is sin.  The invitation to this generation is the same as it was to Cain when God wrestled with his sinful soul and asked, “Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?…” (Genesis 4:6-7).

God warned Cain, “…if thou doest not well, sin lieth [crouches] at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire [sin drives our desires], and thou shalt rule over him [man will either master sin or sin will become his master]” (Genesis 4:7).

King Solomon taught his son the same truth, “[A sinner’s] own iniquities shall take [trap] the wicked himself, and he shall be holden [entrapped] with the cords [ropes] of his sins.”

Nikolas Cruz, and I am afraid many like him, is the personification of hopelessness.  Sinners have but two paths to choose in life…Remorse or Repentance.  Cruz followed the path of remorse and dejection and left in his wake 17 lost lives.

Repentance, on the other hand, assumes responsibility, admits guilt (Psalm 51:4), confesses sins, and seeks forgiveness (1 John 1:9).

Let us pray for the lives touched by the loss of 17 lives, but remember there are many Nikolas Cruz’s in our midst who feel unloved, act unloving, need to know the love of God, and our lives serve as the conduit of compassion for their lost souls.

With the heart of a shepherd,

Pastor Travis D. Smith

Copyright 2018 – Travis D. Smith

July 8, 2016

Mr. President, you bear responsibility for inflaming racial hatred.

officers slainI am sickened by this President’s penchant of marching in the blood of the slain to make political points!

Call me cynical, but I am becoming of the opinion some of the tragedies assailing our nation seem to come on the heels of bad political news for the President and his party (i.e. Hillary Clinton’s email scandals, her shameless, undeniable lies to the American public, the spineless FBI Director’s “investigation”, and the Attorney General’s dereliction of duty).rahm

This White House seems to practice the political philosophy of Rahm Emanuel, former chief of staff for the president and currently the mayor of bloody Chicago, who has stated, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”
In my opinion, the President has spent 7.5 years race baiting the black community and, instead of the peace and unity he promised, he has precipitated the ethnic, class, and race hating our nation is experiencing.  The president has repeatedly assailed the character of our law enforcement, making politically charged statements before there was evidence to support his assertions of racial bias.race baiting
Are there “bad cops” in blue?  Absolutely; however, it is reckless and irresponsible to assail the character of the men and women in blue when they risk their lives everyday upholding the law.
Mr. President, if you want to be a crusader for right and justice, instead of attacking law enforcement, tell the fools who refuse to obey the instructions of police officers and resist arrest they are doing so at the risk of their lives.
Copyright 2016 – Travis D. Smith
July 1, 2016

The Problem is, We Dare Not Trust Washington Politicians, Democratic or Republican!

Paul RyanLet’s be honest, the problem is patriotic Americans no longer trust any of our elected officials to be fair, just and equitable in making or enforcing the law. 
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/286122-house-to-vote-on-gun-bill-next-week
 
The Obama White House is lawless, refusing to enforce the immigration laws of the nation and instead imports the very ones who have vowed to destroy us.
 
The Democratic party is Socialist at best, but I suspect many are closet Communists.
 
The Republicans, like Paul Ryan, are more than willing to play Obama’s game and have refused to stand up to an administration that is threatening our liberties.
 
pig troughWe are economic slaves to ObamaCare, bureaucratic regulations, and policies that have sent our jobs overseas and forced working adults to take minimum wage jobs while half of America bellies up to the pig trough of government subsidies.
 
Do we want “terrorists” to purchase guns, kill and maim our citizens? What a foolish question!
 
The problem is, we do not trust Washington politicians to not tread under foot our Constitutional freedoms…especially the likes of Paul Ryan!  One can only imagine the disaster if Democrats gain control of the House and\or Senate and Hillary goes to the White House.
 
Second AmendmentNext year we may be singing “God Save America”, not “God Bless America”!
 
Copyright 2016 – Travis D. Smith
June 17, 2016

Life in an Amoral World

control the narrativeThe Islamist terrorist’s attack on the Pulse, a “gay bar” in Orlando Sunday morning, June 12, 2016, gave rise to an outpouring of mourning, national disbelief, debates among reporters and pundits regarding the murderer’s motive (in spite of his Facebook posts in the midst of the attack confessing allegiance to ISIS), and politicians furthering their own aspirations making political hay of the tragedy.Pulse gay nightclub

Rather than focus on the radicalization of Omar Mateen, an American citizen born to Afghan immigrant parents, much of the news coverage has been focused on assailing America’s 2nd Amendment right to bear arms.

Rather than focus on the murderer’s Islamic ideology and his trips to Saudi Arabia, liberals have used the occasion to attack conservatives who are defenders of Constitutional liberties and traditional moral values.

Rather than explore the failure of government agencies like the FBI who not only had Omar Mateen on their radar screen, but we now know dismissed concerns raised by those familiar with his Islamic militancy, media hawks have used the tragedy to push tolerance for homosexuality and assail those who consider homosexuality a sin of moral depravity.

There are many who follow this blog who are suffering “spiritual” PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), a result of the relentless attacks on Judeo-Christian values by President Obama’s administration.  I find devout Christians and non-Christians are “shell-shocked” by the rapid dismantling of moral pillars that have not only supported our nation from its conception, but also the majority of humanity for six millennia.

We are witnessing the ascent of an amoral society that, having rejected the historical definitions of morality, sanctity of life, traditional marriage and family, has no interest in defining morality.  There is a concerted effort afoot among liberal politicians, media outlets, reporters, social agitators, educators and the majority of religious leaders in America to control the narrative at the sacrifice of a substantive discussion of right and wrong.right vs wrong

In a post-Christian, 21st century world, controlling the narrative is the end game of the grab for power and influence.  There is no compromise or middle ground with militant progressives and, if left unchecked, they will dismantle our Constitutional liberties robbing us of our freedoms of speech, religion, the press, right to peaceably assemble, to petition for governmental redress of grievances, and the right to keep and bear arms.

The tragic loss of 49 lives last Sunday morning in Orlando and the scores of lives and families forever scarred by a senseless, barbaric attack of a militant Islamist, pales in comparison to the threat to our citizens and nation should social and political amoralists not only “control the narrative”, but shout down and silence voices of reason and morality.

Your Patriot Parson

Copyright 2016 – Travis D. Smith

May 14, 2016

What is the President’s “End Game” in Declaring Bathroom Wars?

ObamaI have been pondering what President Obama’s motive might be for declaring war on the moral right; in other words, what is his “end game” in making Transgender’s rights (only.03% of the American population) a point of conflict and contention?
This President has hardly demonstrated a heart of compassion for anyone, including the men and women in uniform who have made the ultimate sacrifice; therefore I do not think his motivation has anything to do with the civil rights of Transgenders.
Bathroom dangersWhat is his goal?  Is this Transgender war a distraction from greater matters such as the investigation into the deaths of four patriots in Benghazi?  Is it intended to be a distraction from Hillary’s email scandal?  Is the President planning an even greater assault on the Constitution and the liberties of American citizens, such as his threat against the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms?
Why is he choosing to make the fallacy of Transgender civil rights an issue in the last months of his administration and during an election year that has been so contentious?  Is he intending to make the definition of “civil rights” so broad it will embrace every nefarious act of immorality? Is he championing a broader definition of “civil rights” that will open the backdoor to militant Islam’s perversities with young girls that we witness in territories held by ISIS?
I wish I had answers for you.  I know there is an “end game”, but what is it?
Copyright 2016 – Travis D. Smith
April 30, 2014

2nd Amendment Right-to-Bear Arms Bill during a declared emergency

Dear fellow patriots,

FL SenateI just learned that the Florida Senate is considering a bill [HB-209] that would permit citizens to be armed in the case of a declared emergency. The Senate also has their own bill proposal [SB-296]; however, it is the House Bill, without amendments, that would be most favorable to law-abiding citizens.

 As disconcerting as it sounds, the reality is that the current law allows local officials to declare an emergency and in effect, make it illegal for citizens, even those like myself who have concealed permits, to transport and bear arms.  Of all times to be prevented from exercising the right to bear arms guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment, surely an emergency like a hurricane and forced evacuation would not be the hour citizens should be told you have no right to leave your home with a firearm.  As it currently stands, a citizen legally bearing or transporting a firearm during a declared emergency could be arrested!

Add to the above concern, the Florida Sheriffs Association is a major proponent and player in denying the rights of citizens to bear arms in a declared emergency. Please refer to this site for additional information: http://www.nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation/2014/4/florida-critical-alert-sheriffs-still-attacking-second-amendment-rights.aspxright to bear arms

Today is the day you must contact Florida Senators…HB-209 is under consideration this day, April 30.

The following is my personal letter to Florida Senators and you are welcome to use it as a pattern for your own email:

Dear Florida Senators,

The purpose of this email is to request that you and your peers would take up and pass House Bill HB-209 allowing law-abiding citizens to keep and have in their possession their personal firearms in the case of a declared emergency by local officials.

My wife and I are both concealed permit holders and I am appalled that the current status of the law is that I would be denied my 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms. This is especially egregious if that Constitutional right would be denied me or my family in an emergency when law and order might be at risk and law enforcement detained by criminal activities preventing them from a timely response to pleas for help.

Please pass HB-209 with no amendments.

The following are email addresses for Florida Senators that you may copy and paste into your email:

abruzzo.joseph.web@flsenate.gov,
altman.thad.web@flsenate.gov,
bean.aaron.web@flsenate.gov,
benacquisto.lizbeth.web@flsenate.gov,
bradley.rob.web@flsenate.gov,
brandes.jeff.web@flsenate.gov,
detert.nancy.web@flsenate.gov,
portilla.miguel.web@flsenate.gov,
evers.greg.web@flsenate.gov,
flores.anitere.web@flsenate.gov,
gaetz.don.web@flsenate.gov,
galvano.bill.web@flsenate.gov,
garcia.rene.web@flsenate.gov,
gardiner.andy.web@flsenate.gov,
grimsley.denise.web@flsenate.gov,
hays.alan.web@flsenate.gov,
hukill.dorothy.web@flsenate.gov,
lee.tom.web@flsenate.gov,
legg.john.web@flsenate.gov,
negron.joe.web@flsenate.gov,
richter.garrett.web@flsenate.gov,
simmons.david.web@flsenate.gov,
simpson.wilton.web@flsenate.gov,
stargel.kelli.web@flsenate.gov,
thrasher.john.web@flsenate.gov

With a patriot’s heart,

Travis D. Smith