RobertNashville

If you want to know what is going on with the TFA go to their Facebook page or get their legislative updates or go to their forum...better yet, go to a meeting where you'll be talking directly with legislators.Almost all the restoration of our gun rights have come from the efforts of the TFA.   TFA was instrumental in defeating a heavily supported establishment Republican who killed the parking lot bill and Republicans still in the legislature know not to take the TFA lightly.

I don't think anyone is suggesting doing away with the HCP process nor has any of the bills presented to date suggested doing so.  And, it be a mistake to do away with the HCP - many, including me, feel it's as and perhaps more important to carry in many states (39 I think at this point with a TN HCP) as it is to carry within TN.

That's a great series (I'm assuming you are referring to "Lead the Field"???). However, I don't think he would see any more hope here that I do for this particular bill this session. ;)

Yuup...but I thought it was his bill and I didn't think you could introduce a bill and be its sponsor at the same time (but I may be wrong on that). In any case, it doesn't change that this thing is dead in committee...Ramsey is not going to let it see the light of day. A "summer study committee" is likely it's next stop if it gets that far which means we'll never see it again and we'll have to start over next year.

I know you want the bill passed; I'd like it passed too and I've already talked to my SS (and a couple that aren't mine that at least know me well enough to take my calls) but unless something has changed since I last looked it still has no senate sponsor and it's been relegated to the justice committee...I also doubt it's had a fiscal note attached yet...you can call that "dumping on it" all you want but unless my information is wrong that just how it is. If you have better information please feel free to share it.

I do support it...I also know it's not going to happen with this legislature.  If you think I'm wrong about that, fine...it still won't change the outcome.  I also said "it's worth making our feelings known" but I guessed you missed that. In fact, it's pretty obvious you missed most of what I said based on your comment that I'm supporting republican candidates that are all part of the ruling class when I just said that THEY ARE THE PROBLEM that need to be eliminated.

Recognizing the truth is not being "defeatist"; it's simply understanding the truth of the matter. This legislature is NOT going to pass the kind of legislation you want. As I said above, It's worth making our feelings known but don't expect to see anything of substance happening from this...not with this current Republican dominated legislature I suggest our efforts would be far better spent working (not just letter writing and not even just contributing $) but actually WORKING to get rid of the politicians that we need to get rid of so that getting good bills that follow the constitution and/or restore rights that have been infringed won't be so hard to do.   When was the last time here any of you went door to door or spent time on the telephone or manned a booth at an event on behalf of a candidate you believed in? It's been a while for me but I'm willing to get back into the ground game...anyone else want to join me?

It's worth making our feelings knows but I don't see anything of substance happening from this...not with this current Republican dominated legislature. Hell; we can't even get them to fix the glaring problems with Ramsey's "2013 parking lot bill"  that even those who pushed it down our throats acknowledge are problems.   The only way this kind of change will pass is when Democrats win back control and the Republicans have to again start acting like people who believe in the constitution again so that they can regain power. It would help if we could Maggartize a few more Republicans but I don't see that happening with enough of them anytime soon meaning the triumvirate of evil (Haslam, Ramsey and Harwell) will remain in control.

Well, we all have to make our choices don't we...pick our battles...chose when to walk away.  I suppose where I'm coming from is that I don't know that the worst states (CA, NY, etc.) are salvageable...I think they may be too far gone to save and if they are, I wouldn't want to be living there when it gets really bad (as I think it will).

I'm not talking about those with liberal views moving and why would they move?  If the state they are living in is being governed IAW what they believe it they should be very happy to stay.  I'm talking about those moving who are at odds with the progressive (meaning socialism) way of governing - those are the folks who at some point may find the best answer in a state that better matches their views.   As to Christie...he hasn't "turned"...is is what he's always been. A lot of folks, me included, liked some of what we heard of and from him initially.  But, as we found out more about him we learned that he is just another liberal/progressive/big government politician who happens to wear a "Republican" label. That's what is supposed to happen isn't it? Potential candidates/candidates come on the scene and voters who care examine them...learn about their convictions...record and decide whether they are worthy of our vote! If Christie does get the Republican nomination I won't be voting for him because of what I've learned of him...who I might vote fore is very much up in the air at the moment.

Seems like all the more reason for people who don't want to be subject to the "city dwellers" to find a more hospitable (to their views) state to live in. ;)

I think some folks were hoping it was a Martian that threw the rock at the rover!  ;)

Final solution..."Researchers have determined that the martian rock resembling a doughnut is a piece of a larger rock broken and moved by the wheel of NASA’s rover Opportunity."   http://www.astronomy.com/news/2014/02/mars-rover-heads-uphill-after-solving-doughnut-riddle?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ASY_News1_Sub_140221_Final&utm_content=

I've never owned a 40S&W or a 9MM and have never seen a good reason to do so. Nothing specifically against them but I like a little punch in my SD pistols and I don't want to deal with a bunch of different calibers so, I only go 45ACP or 10MM.

  :up:

I'm worried about the existence of our country more than anything else. Local "coalitions" are just another form of government but local coalitions aren't going to stop the invasion of our country by illegal alines...a local coalition is not going to stop a North Korea from lobbing a few nukes our way and killing a few million people or stop Red China from simply taking over the continent.   People NEED government. We can bemoan that fact 'till Hell freezes over but it will not change that basic truth and if it is true than we need to have the best government possible. We had that once and we have let it slip away slowly...whether we can reestablish it or not I don't know.   What I think some here want, even if they don't use the words, is the Garden of Eden where everyone gets along and lives in harmony with God and each other. Well, that's gone and until God reestablishes it we have to do the best we can. In fact, I would suggest that even God recognized the need for government and endorses the same.

I'm not saying that no one will follow God (or even just a decent moral compass) even in the absence of man's law but as a whole?  No way.   We can see in graphic detail how a significant percentage of mankind acts and what he does to his fellow man even with the rule of law and punishments in place...remove those last impediments and literally, all Hell will break loose.

I don't believe it's a defeatist attitude; rather, just a reasonable observation based on the math...maybe the math will turn around but I haven't seen it yet.

I don't believe so...I've lived long enough to know what kind of person I am when no one is watching. Besides, I'm an exceptional human being of significant intelligence, many years of formal education and guided by a strong abiding faith in God and the Bible.   I'm also extremely humble. :hat:   That said, all of us, including me, are imperfect and flawed and has within us the capacity of doing evil which is why most people, absence the rule of law, will embrace their baser instincts as has sadly been proven time and time again throughout thousands of years of history.

I believe armed revolution and/or armed resistance is "silly" because I believe it will likely fail and because even if it succeeds I'm not hopeful that the government that rises from the ashes would be even as good as the one that was just overthrown (the American revolution is quite unique in that regard in that a successful revolution resulted in a government of based on freedom and liberty).  I believe it is inappropriate to use force to obtain change so long as we still have free elections...a mechanism for change that does not involve violent revolution (an option our founders did not have) even if I'm not hopeful that the elections will be successful. Ultimately, if the country continues its death spiral armed revolution may come but I neither desire it nor think it will ultimately have a desirable outcome.   If I was dismissive of others in the 2012 election cycle it was because I believed and still believe that 2012 was a pivotal year for the country (frankly, I believe we haven't even yet seen the real harm that will eventually come to us by Obama's reelection). However, with regards to voting and supporting candidates with little chance to succeed I have changed my position somewhat because 2012 was also my last election voting for the "least bad choice".   I'm through with the whole sticking mess called the "Republican Party" and the only way I'll vote for anyone going forward is if I'm convinced he/she is truly worth of the office they seek and if they hold correct positions on the few issues that are deal-breakers for me...I will vote for such candidates regardless of "party" affiliation and regardless of whether I think they will win or not.  Where I will still likely differ with many "Libertarians" and other third-party folks is that I have no illusions about such candidates actually winning their office. If people want to support them, fine; I'm not going to tell them not to do so...I may well be supporting the same candidate but I don't really expect third-party candidates to win; at least not at the national level which leads me back to the last line of my first paragraph...if the country continues its death spiral armed revolution may come but I neither desire it nor think it will ultimately have a desirable outcome.

I think you are wrong and his post following yours proves it; he wants an absence of government. What he refuses to understand that in with an absence of government you WILL have violence and the strong preying on the week and acting out their baser instincts.

You cannot have "A" without having "B" which is why a democratic republic guided by a constitution is ALWAYS the better option unless, as Oh Shoot so correctly pointed out that if yo are going to advocate anarchism, best be well prepared for the resultant anarchy.

There are, of course, a lucky few who will never have any serious health problems and live a very long life. However, after years of exhaustive study and research I have come to one, inescapable conclusion about "Cancer" which is that almost everything in existence can cause it and that the only 100% guarantee of avoiding it is to die before you get it.   Therefore, whenever I hear "it can cause cancer" I simply tune it out as the garbage it is.

Well, I guess if someone doesn't like the "contract" called our Constitution he/she could more to another country as a way to "opt out" or I suppose they could refuse to obey any law at all; not sure how far that will get them.   When people start talking about the Constitution as a contract that they "didn't sign" (and by extension,I would assume, have no obligation to follow/abide by) it starts sounding a lot like the ridiculous and dangerous "sovereign citizen" movement

Yes and always has been...if you have an "official definition" that everyone agrees on please pass it along! :)   "As a subtle and anti-dogmatic philosophy, anarchism draws on many currents of thought and strategy. Anarchism does not offer a fixed body of doctrine from a single particular world view, instead fluxing and flowing as a philosophy."  Marshall, Peter (2010). Demands The Impossible: A History Of Anarchism. Oakland, CA: PM Press.