OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma church canceled a controversial gun giveaway for teenagers at a weekend youth conference.
Windsor Hills Baptist had planned to give away a semiautomatic assault rifle until one of the event's organizers was unable to attend.
The church’s youth pastor, Bob Ross, said it’s a way of trying to encourage young people to attend the event. The church expected hundreds of teenagers from as far away as Canada.
“We have 21 hours of preaching and teaching throughout the week,” Ross said.
A video on the church Web site shows the shooting competition from last year’s conference. A gun giveaway was part of the event last year. This year, organizers included it in their marketing.
“I don’t want people thinking ‘My goodness, we’re putting a weapon in the hand of somebody that doesn’t respect it who are then going to go out and kill,'” said Ross. “That’s not at all what we’re trying to do.”
Ross said the conference isn’t all about guns, but rather about teens finding faith.
76 comments
"Ross said the conference isn’t all about guns, but rather about teens finding faith."
Yeah, faith through superior firepower.
Well, I'm sure I'd certainly want a semiautomatic rifle after 21 hours of mind-numbing bollocks.
Windsor Hills Baptist had planned to give away a semiautomatic assault rifle until one of the event's organizers was unable to attend.
So you tell these kids that they are forgiven for any sin they ever commit. And then you hand them a semiautomatic weapon?
Am I the only one that sees a problem here?
What the hell?
This can't be real.
Not a fundie, but extremely stupid.
This reminds me of that GOD action figure, ''NOW WITH AK-47!''
*Choke* Wait....
No. Just no. This can't be happening.
We've stepped into an alternate reality where Landover Baptist's "gun camp" is a reality.
(See: www.LandoverBaptist.org; I think it's still on their homepage).
What a stupid idea. Teens, guns, zealotry, that sounds like one of the worst mixtures possible. Maybe they could add a gallon of cheap communion wine.
See, this is where the UK and the US are different.
In the US, the church is trying to give guns to kids.
In the UK, the police are trying to stop kids having guns.
Quote: "Why would a teen need a semi-automatic assault rifle?"
Watch out emau99, your ignorance is showing. Assault rifles are selective fire, semi-automatic rifles are not. Though you could select semi-automatic mode on a assault rifle if you wanted to.
That newswoman on the video is pulling a classic media lie. She calls a semi-automatic rifle and 'assault rifle.' This and calling semi-automatic rifles 'machine guns' are tricks that the media likes to use to make stories about guns scarier. Take it from me: AR15s are not fully automatic, they do not have a controlled burst mode, they are not selective fire. If you ever see the news and a news anchor talks about firearms, that person is probably lying. I have as yet to see one not mislabel a firearm as something it is not.
Also I don't know if this is fundy. It is religious, so I suppose if the church is a fundy church then it is fundy. Hard to tell from the post though.
@szena: I know 'semi-automatic assault rifle" was used in the post. It was wrong in the post. It was wrong when the newswoman in the video said it. It was wrong when Emau99 wrote it. AR15s are not assault rifles. I hate to be that guy who says the media lies, but when it comes to firearms they lie their asses off.
Yeah, but I would totally ignore your lectures, listen to my MP3 player, steal your crackers, and then try to get teh gun. [Assuming it's a lottery]
So you have to watch out for not-true christians!
Because if you're giving away a gun, you'll probably just attract people who want guns.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAIT a minute here ...
"semiautomatic assault rifle" ?!
There's no such thing. An assault rifle, by definition, is capable of either full autofire or burst fire. If it's semi-automatic only, it's not a friggin' assault rifle!
Oh, and note for you purists: There is a difference between an "assault rifle" and an "assault weapon". "Assault rifle" is a term coined by the military to describe a specific class of fully-automatic military small arms. "Assault weapon" is a word made up by lawmakers to describe semi-automatic firearms that superficially resemble the big scary machine guns in movies and TV shows.
Yes, by all means, spend an entire week teaching them that your/their god demands that people who are gay or abort their fetuses deserve to die, then put a gun in their hands and send them on their way.
I just hope you don't mind us coming to you so that you can claim personal responsibility when (not 'if', but WHEN), one of those little darlings goes out and kills someone to appease your god.
Is this "controversial" in Oklahoma, or just everywhere else?
“We have 21 hours of preaching and teaching throughout the week,” Ross said.
Damn, they'd have to give the gun away AFTER all that. Who could sit through much P&T with a semi-auto in their lap and not start sending fundies to jesus...
See, all those good Baptists know that the only kids who kill are ATHEIST kids. If they give the kids weapons after hearing two days of preaching, they are guaranteed to use them only for hunting down gays.
But remember that youth gun violence is 100% completely the fault of liberal homosexual atheists.
I'd also like to see the Canadian kids try and get those weapons across the border.
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Edit:
To the gun purists on the board, settle down. I know it's a pet peeve of yours. Technically any gun is an assault weapon (of course so is a kitchen knife if you assault someone with it). As far as semi-auto, your right most guns out there are semi-auto, bolt-action is becoming very rare.
But give people a break. Not everyone is a gun enthusiast.
No it's about teens finding fundimentalism and going out and shooting: Athiests, Gays, Muslims, agnostics, catholics, anyonewhodoesnotagreewithmybeliefs Ect.
And vidoegames/taking religion OUT of schools is the source of all the world's violence?
That one Fundie declaring war on FSTDT...the mass Fundie boycott of McDonald's...this gun give away/teen brainwashing--I mean preaching--no...wait...I meant brainwashing...event....
Put me in CTSTDT if they aren't upto a global Fundie War.
That's a new marketing strategy. Also, a gun with a mental delusion to go with it?
@#621106
"Kinda strange, but not too fundy. Oh well, that's America for you. And America is awesome. "
What the fuck is wrong with you? You do realize that majority of these fundies are from U.S.? You people need to fix America.
Don´t be so cruel with the guy. He wanted to give out condoms, beer and drugs to attract the guys until he realised that it was forbidden in the Bible(well, actually it was a fellow pastor, not the Bible). And he thought, why not weapons?........until he read the other cheek stuff.
To me it sounds like they are willing to get the numbers any frigging way possible. If they have to bribe them, so be it.
Teens finding faith? Yeah, right! More like teens learning to lie from the professionals.
Can't they promise exotic dancers at the end of each sermon instead? That's a much more peaceful bribe.
I seem to remember something about "Thou shalt not kill".
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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