The gun is not a mere tool, a bit of technology, a political issue, a point of debate. It is an object of reverence. Devotion to it precludes interruption with the sacrifices it entails. Like most gods, it does what it will, and cannot be questioned. Its acolytes think it is capable only of good things. It guarantees life and safety and freedom. It even guarantees law. Law grows from it. Then how can law question it?”

via God Damn Guns | A Deeper Story.

The newest (or at least more insisting) fashion among the Opposition is that we are the new Canaanites worshiping evil idols. The quote above represents another sickening trend they are having: Hate. I am guessing that combining the both of them is to create a vociferous and fanatical new movement that Sean Sorrentino masterfully identifies as the New Temperance Movement and history tells us that was one well-intentioned road to Hell without speed limits.

“The temperance movement, rooted in America’s Protestant churches, first urged moderation, then encouraged drinkers to help each other to resist temptation, and ultimately demanded that local, state, and national governments prohibit alcohol outright.”

An increasing effort to restrict which ultimately led to a total ban….where have we heard this strategy before?

But back to the original idea. Yes, we do cling to our guns and our religion, but we do have a clear definition that one is material and the other is spiritual, we don’t intermix or confuse both and as far as I know, no gunnie has a secret altar lit with candles under a poster of a 1911 and a picture of John M. Browning or sings every Sunday “What a Friend We Have In Gaston Glock.”  If there is any similarity between our “passion” for guns and a religion, you would have to go to the Catholic faith and the ages-old accusation we pray to statutes of Saints.

Catholic saints represent a virtue we feel have or we need to improve our spiritual lives. We are well aware that all the virtues are encompassed by God, but we just might need to concentrate a bit more on a specific in which this particular saint excelled so we resort to his example to remind us and guide us. There are more than one saint for a virtue so you get to choose which one to follow and study depending on whose life is closest to you or attracts you the most. In other words, saints are duty-specific to a spiritual task. We pray to what they represent, not the statute gathering dust in a church as they are only reminders and we humans do forget about goodness and ourselves.

And I guess that some of that can also be said about guns. But we never confuse the spiritual realm with the practical use, betterment and enjoyment we get from firearms. We get to pick which gun or brand we like the best and suits us and we tend to be faithful about it. We engage in silly arguments about what is better because we like it and we may learn something but that differs absolutely from worshiping the object. We admire the design, the aesthetics, the accuracy, the ability to perform multiple roles or just one, but we do not give them magical powers nor we believe they perform miracles. Yes, at times we can get contrary on our favoritism but that is just an example of how unrelated to religion they are as you never see a forum discussion titled: “St. Anthony v. St. Francis of Assisi: Who is the best patron saint of animals?” or “St. Raphael, the forgotten patron of lovers. Is St. Valentine a commercial conspiracy?”

Yes, lots of tongue-in-cheek on this post.  But we gunnies are like that: We take our rights seriously but not ourselves too much. So when you hear or read the Gun Control crowd moping about our alleged idolatry, just laugh in their faces, shame them for  being so stupid as to corrupt religion by mixing it with politics in a feeble excuse to shame us into silence.

And, if you are the religious kind, say a prayer to St. Gabriel Possenti, patron saint of gunnies.