"You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone."
                                                              - Al Capone 

Although I will FOREVER believe that guns have been invented for the sole purpose of causing harm/death to all living things, until my dream of living upon a planet where NOBODY has to rely upon guns, or for THAT matter, ANY kind of lethal weapons of mass destruction, let me assure you that I am not one of the anti-gunners in possession of the kind of mindset who would presume to sit here and tell you that it was the "evil gun ALONE" (to use my friend Charlie's words) that is jumping up and causing all of this dreadful gun violence within our society today, for NO...it is FAR more complicated than simply blaming the inanimate gun...

So just who and/or what DO I place this blame upon? well...here is my list in order of importance to me:

- Less quality parental/guardian involvement in a young person's life. This issue is SO very important as it relates to the personality of a human being, that I can't begin to stress to you how vital it actually IS!

- Too many people who believe that guns and other lethal weaponry will ALWAYS be the only way to solve our world's differences and problems rather than at least ATTEMPTING  to use their imaginations by way of allowing their mindsets to become receptive to a less violent way of living via the many less lethal weapons that are available out there as well as conflict resolution techniques that are presently being used. I recently viewed a program that was presented on the History Channel which was called, "Modern Marvels: Non-Lethal Weapons."  I got the distinct feeling from watching this show that modern technology is rapidly moving toward using these weapons.  You may have noticed that I prefer to use the term LESS-lethal instead of NON-lethal because after much consideration and research upon this subject, I've decided that there is no such thing as a NON-lethal weapon since even they can be lethal in certain circumstances. Therefore, I myself will be using the term LESS lethal weaponry as a personal choice whenever I see or hear the words NON lethal weapon. 

- More violence than EVER being shown in the movie industry (and gratuitous violence may I add).

- More violent song lyrics than in previous years (as the daughter of a musician and a lover of music I can ASSURE you that this statement is a factual one).

- More violent computer and video games being produced.

Want to know how to talk to your children about guns? This is excellent, age-appropriate information. 

Now this next statement of mine may come as quite a shock to you, but believe me, I have twisted it and turned it inside and out until there was no other way for me to look at it but THIS way and so here it is exactly as I FEEL it.............Although I do despise guns and what they represent, I sincerely do not believe in my deepest heart of hearts that responsible, law-abiding human beings who have first gone through a background check should have to be forced to endure any type of societal prejudice that would cause them to feel that their guns ought to be taken away from them as long as the rest of the world is allowed to keep their own. Therefore, until the Second Amendment is amended some day (and make no mstake, I truly believe that it WILL be) all we need to survive gun violence on this planet of ours are bullet-proof body armour, bullet-proof houses and bullet-proof vehicles (and I am not kidding, I am stating something serious here).

It is my distinct honor and a privilege to introduce you to, a group of extraordinary people who are of a non-violent, less lethal mindset. Their organization is called, "The Guardian Angels" and when diplomacy/talking doesn't work in a situation, they rely upon martial arts for purposes of self-defense and crime control. I wish EVERY single town and city in the entire world would have the benefit of having these individuals come into their educational systems in order to both lecture about the fabulous work that they are doing to combat crime as well as recruit as many young people as they possibly can.

After personally watching "The Angels" in action on a subway in New York City, I would like to take this opportunity to say to them, "Thank you Curtis Sliwa and all of the rest of you guys for everything that you do in order to protect us."

A question to ponder: Why can't we Americans be more like our neighbors in Canada when it comes to gun deaths in our gun-loving society? Please click here if you'd like to read about statistics and safety as it relates to these two countries.

If I could re-write the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, this is precisely what I would love to see: 

"We, the people of the United States, in order that we shall have the right to preserve a State free for all races, shall achieve this end by the use of less-lethal weaponry only for our continued survival as human beings. This free State entails our personal self-defense as well as our right to our food consumption. In keeping with current government law, if we so choose to possess a less-lethal weapon (be it either upon our persons or within our private homes), we are obligated to store these aforementioned weapons plus any ammo relating to its use in a manner which will serve to protect the welfare of a minor child." 

If non-violent conflict resolution isn't feasible in certain violent situations, then there are many less lethal weapons that are available out there that can stop aggressors before they can cause serious bodily harm. You know I've been thinking of a perfect less-lethal weapon. You've heard of paintball guns? well how about poopball guns? After all, since we have so much dog poop in this country of ours, how about utilizing it to our advantage by creating dog poopballs that would be shot out of guns invented for this purpose only? If anybody feels like backing me on this idea, I really do believe that it would be feasible to explore the possibilities.

It pleases me to know that our very own U.S. military as well as police departments across the United States have quite an extensive ongoing less-lethal weapons program, which gives me hope for the future. Are you interested in knowing just HOW extensive it is? well then, be my guest:

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Another important internet site is called, The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and they have excellent advice pertaining to guns for both children and adults.

Please click here if you are interested in reading the opinion of retired police Captain Greg Meyer on the subject of nonlethal weapons and how their early use means fewer deaths and injuries.

May we all evolve to a higher plane in life where instead of physically/mentally harming one another, just like bullies do in order to achieve something that they want, we use non-violent, less-lethal, conflict resolution methods, which will surely grant us everlasting peace, love, understanding and respect.