David Gee writing at Patheos.

A total of 26 people were killed in the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting, but the man who ultimately shot the killer – a conservative being hailed as the ultimate “good guy with a gun” – says God sent him to “stop” the attack.

When a man started firing an AR-15 into First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, he killed a total of 26 people and hurt 20 others who were worshiping there. When he left the building of his own choice, he ran into Stephen Willeford, a gun advocate who brought his own AR-15.

They exchanged fire, and the original shooter fled, but when police found him, he had died from the gunshot wounds.

That makes Willeford “the epitome of the definition of a ‘good guy with a gun,’” a phrase used to describe a gun carrier who is able to stop in progress crimes because they are armed, according to Ammoland, which interviewed the man.

Stephen Willeford, an NRA instructor and firearms enthusiast, knew he must do something to stop the killer’s deadly rampage. He couldn’t sit around and let a maniac attack his community. He grabbed his AR-15 and set out to end the murderer’s violent spree.

When Ammoland asked Willeford how he knew about the shooting and why he engaged, he said it was a combination of God and his daughter.

“My oldest daughter heard the shots and made me aware of it,” he told Ammoland. “I truly believe God had called me to go there and stop it.”

Despite the fact that 26 people did die in the attack, Willeford continued to play the same divine intervention card.

“I wasn’t scared at all. I was terrified. But the Holy Spirit was with me, telling me not to concern myself with the bullets coming my way, but to do what he sent me to do,” he said.

Interestingly enough, he also said turning to God is the answer to stopping shootings from happening, despite the fact that this one occurred in a church.

“It is easy to blame the gun for the shooting because it takes away the responsibility of each individual for their actions. It is actually a matter of the heart, good vs. evil,” he said. “That is a lot harder to fix. This country needs to go back to what God values, life. From conception to death. Until we can instill that in our society, these incidents will continue. Life matters — all lives.”

“All lives” matter, said the man who recently took a life.

Willeford is put forth as the best example of a good guy with a gun, but the fact is that he wasn’t able to stop dozens of people from dying.

Aside from the snark about a man believing that all lives matter after taking a life (a sophomoric objection we could fisk later), his main objection seems to be just this: God brought him to the church that day to stop the shooting, but “he wasn’t able to stop dozens of people from dying.”

Poor David.  He’s in way, way over his head and is completely unqualified to address this topic.

David needs to take some coursework in theology and philosophy.  He is attempting to broach the subject of “theodicy.”  How could a good God allow bad things to happen, as the philosophers object?  Or as Alvin Plantinga puts it, theodicy is “answer to the question of why God permits evil.”

Since I am a Calvinist, I won’t proffer a free will response.  I believe, as the Westminster Confession of Faith states, that God ordains “whatsoever comes to pass.”  Rather, I turn the tables on the atheist and point out that without the Scriptures (which presuppose the existence of God, and yet evidence and affirm it as well), he has no definition of evil to begin with.

If you study the debate between Bertrand Russell and Frederick Copleston, while I might object that Copleston was too gracious and lenient with Russell throughout the debate, even the highly knowledgeable Russell wasn’t able to develop a coherent, consistent system of ethics based on atheism.  You can see the same struggle in the debate between Greg Bahnsen and Gordon Stein.  Stein was reduced to a blubbering idiot when pressed on this issue by Bahnsen.   Stein failed, as do all atheists.

In order for David Gee’s objection to be an effective defeater, it has to demonstrate inconsistency in my own system (David doesn’t believe in my system, but I do, so David must convince me that my views are incoherent).  David hasn’t even come close.

For a brief answer to the question of evil, one needs to go no further than reading Romans Chapter 9.  My views are entirely coherent when I say that there is a preceptive and decretive will of God, the first being His precepts or laws (what He wants us to do), the second being his decretive will (what He ordains will come to pass).  The two are not the same thing, and He uses secondary causes to bring about His decretive will (see 2 Kings 22:20-23).

God is sovereign.  See for example Isaiah 46:9-10, and Ephesians 1:11.  I have no logical problem with His having decreed the events of that day, from start to finish, including the fact that Mr. Willeford got there to stop the attack, and got there when he did, not a second sooner nor a second later.  And David Gee cannot demonstrate that there is a logical problem with any of this.

I’m glad that Mr. Willeford was armed.  It would have been better if others were armed as well and been prepared to defend their families as God has ordered.  Perhaps this event serves as a reminder to heads of households that they have a duty to God and their family, and perhaps that’s one of the good things that comes from this event.

Now to one final related point.  I ran across this commentary under a Google news search.  Note again – a Google news search.  I’m not joking.

TCJ, this very web site, provides useful and insightful commentary, with robust and educated reader responses on virtually a daily basis, and isn’t on Google news.  How does Google news decide to give juvenile, random mental meanderings like David Gee’s piece visits by categorizing them as news?

Nevermind.  I think I answered my own question.  Google news.

If you’ve read this far David, I do have one more question for you.  I think you really do believe in “good guys with guns,” don’t you?  You believe in cops, don’t you?  That means you want the state to have a monopoly on violence, which means you aren’t really an atheist.  Your god is the state.  You worship a totem pole.

David Codrea.

Wexton says she “wants banks and credit card companies to flag purchases that could signal a person is preparing to carry out a mass shooting.” You know, kind of like the Department of Pre-Crime, but this one will rely on the type of economic fascism the power zealots refer to by the euphemism “public/private partnership.” Those “partners” like Citigroup and Bank of America, who are banking on disarmament, will be glad to help.

[ … ]

The good news is this is much ado about nothing—for now. GovTrack and its Skopos Lab prognosis give Wexton’s bill a “1% chance of being enacted.”

Oh, I’d say give it a year for the controllers to wrap up complete control over the system and then get back with me.

Uh oh.  There is war between the manufacturers.

I don’t have a dog in this fight.

I guess ultimately it depends upon exactly how the patent paperwork reads and exactly what they took credit for.  I know a patent and copyright attorney.  It gets really complicated, very quickly.

Sitting at the table of the Father, obeying His moral law, as a sovereign individual, at peace with others.

I still think it’s an impressive cartridge, with power greater than 30-30 or 300 Blackout, able to be shot from a MSR, and much less recoil than .450 Bushmaster.

NSSF on Firearms sales.

• The estimated total number of firearms in civilian possession from 1986-2018 is 422.9 million, according to data reported in the ATF’s Firearms Commerce Report in the United States 2019 report and including the preliminary 2018 Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Exportation Report (AFMER) figures.
• 17,740,000 Modern Sporting Rifles are in private ownership today.
• More than half (54%) of all rifles produced in 2017 were modern sporting rifles.
• In 2017, 7,901,218 total firearms were produced and imported. Of those, 4,411,923 were pistols and revolvers, 2,821,945 were rifles and 667,350 were shotguns.
• An interim 2018 estimate showed a total 7,660,772 total firearms were produced and imported. Of those 4,277,971 were pistols and revolvers, 2,846,757 were rifles and 535,994 were shotguns. Those are interim reports and will be updated as complete information becomes available.
• Firearms-ammunition manufacturing accounted for nearly 12,000 employees producing over $4.1 billion in goods shipped in 2017. An estimated 8.1 billion rounds, of all calibers and gauges, were produced in 2018 for the U.S. market.

So how’s that plan to confiscate 18 million MSRs going, controllers?  You think you’ll get them all?

Here is a useful graph from Ammoland.

There has been a general trend upwards for a very long time.  Excel or TableCurve-2D could easily fit a smoothed curve with that data with a decent correlation coefficient.  Do you see that increase right at the end of 2019?  It’s seasonal, no doubt, like the rest of the repeatable perturbations.

But I don’t expect to see it go back down very far or fast in 2020.  I think 2020 is the year you want to be in the firearms manufacturing and sales business.

Via WRSA, this is a worthy read about Ruby Ridge.

What a farce.  All of the things that happened at Ruby Ridge over an inch or less of barrel length.  Because Congress.  Because rulers.

Survival Blog, from a writer named Vigilant in Virginia.

 … 22 Virginia counties have adopted second amendment sanctuary resolutions. My county was among them. I went to the recent public hearing regarding this matter and was joined there by several hundred patriotic Americans in support of their right to keep and bear arms. Many speakers boldly noted to the Board of Supervisors that the Second Amendment is not about hunting, but maintaining an armed citizenry to inhibit government tyranny. The turnout and knowledge level of these fellow citizens is encouraging and makes me hopeful that freedom will be defended, that many will not simply capitulate to socialism or worse.

However, I must temper the enthusiasm of my fellow patriots. The Supervisors in my county have at times taken breathtakingly spineless actions in order to raise taxes, to have someone else to blame. And our county is poorly run by a good old boy network of people growing government for their own benefit. These people protect their own hind ends at all costs, and they commit to no position that will cost them a dime or any credibility with the sleepy voters. Let’s not think that all of a sudden these wimps have awakened to the reality of militant liberalism and are ready to fight. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The resolutions being adopted have no force of law or regulation. The Supervisors in Virginia counties have no authority over local sheriffs, and they have no sway over the State Police, National Guard, Federal law enforcement, or anyone else who might be tasked with gun confiscation. Right before passing the 2A resolution, our Board recognized some EMS personnel for good work, and the 2A document has just as much legal weight as the certificates of appreciation handed to the firemen.

The sheriff stood up in our meeting and proclaimed loudly that he was not going to ignore enforcement of any law, but he is hearing our concerns. He qualified his support multiple times, while sounding like he is on our side. Only time will tell.

Look, when the order for gun confiscation comes down, any sheriff who does not comply will eventually be removed by force by the feds or State Police. If any county politician stands up against them, they will be removed as well. I’ve long believed that gun confiscation will not be practical to implement until food rationing is in place, where the government will have leverage over the population and law enforcement through selective food distribution. Just like in Connecticut and New Jersey today where outlawing firearms/magazines has resulted in embarrassingly few surrenders of hardware, gun owners are not going to give up their firearms without either a fight, or being starved out.

What these 2A sanctuary counties are doing is great, as far as it goes, but don’t expect your local sheriff’s deputies to block the Fed’s access to your home when the order happens. This is the order you may not even hear about until that knock comes at your door. All politicians do everything to serve themselves, all the time, without exception.

It’s just as I’ve said all along.  And I would add LEOs to the mix of people who serve themselves, or perhaps “Vigilant in Virginia” is doing that by categorizing them as politicians.

Declarations of sanctuaries is merely symbolic and can only be a first step.  It sends a message, but unless and until local and county politicians and LEOs are willing to put their careers and safety on the line arresting State or FedGov agents who attempt to enforce confiscatory orders, this goes nowhere.  It will have been nothing more than a flash in a pan.

In the comments there is this interesting web site, https://keepVA2A.com, which is tracking sanctuary counties and the ongoing meetings and protests.

Prior: Intelligence Report From Virginia

News from Virginia.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was at the front of the minds of both elected officials and residents Tuesday night.

When Virginia Beach City Council met Tuesday for its first meeting of the month, the Second Amendment wasn’t listed on the agenda. Yet hundreds showed up to voice their thoughts on the city becoming a “Second Amendment sanctuary.”

So much so that the City Council Chambers and all of city hall reached capacity, leaving even more people outside during the meeting. By 6:30 p.m. the crowd had swelled to the point that both the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office and police department were on-scene to close the road down in front of city hall.

The gun rights advocates wore orange stickers saying “Guns Save Lives” in the shadow of Building 2 at the municipal center, where six months earlier a gunman killed 12 and injured 4 others.

10 On Your Side was unable to hear who spoke before the council because of capacity and “open mic night” comments are not recorded. However, we do know one of the speakers was Vincent Smith, Division Manager for the Virginia Beach Department of Public Works, who spearheaded the request. He also has created a petition calling for a change in a policy that prohibits city employees from having guns at work.

Outside former Republican congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Scott Taylor addressed the crowd.

“I don’t want to be a felon for protecting myself and exercising my constitutional rights,” Taylor said to cheers.

He called the resolution “a political statement that tells Richmond ‘you will not infringe on our constitutional rights’.”

Members from Moms Demand Action, a dissenting group that focuses on demanding “reasonable solutions” to gun violence in America, was also in attendance.

“Even though you might see a lot of people here, obviously Virginians came out and voted for gun safety legislation this session,” said Sibel Galindez, a co-lead with the Hampton Roads chapter.

Galindez said what alarms her the most is the notion that policy could be ignored.

“Lawlessness has no place in Virginia Beach,” Galindez said.

The “sanctuary” movement has spread in Virginia since the Nov. 5 election, when Democrats gained majority control of both the State Senate and House of Delegates. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has said his party’s leaders will push for gun control measures and more than a dozen bills concerning firearms have already been pre-filed.

So far, 23 counties have passed resolutions ensuring they will not use their public resources to enforce any unconstitutional gun laws.

However political experts and even Taylor admitted that the state would ultimately be able to enforce its laws.

“At this point, we just have to figure out what we are empowered to do and to see if we can find out something. But obviously we have to protect the Second Amendment, we’ll figure out a way,” said Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer following the meeting.

Virginia Beach was not the only locality to hear public support for the Second Amendment on Tuesday night.

Gloucester County voted to become a “Second Amendment sanctuary” Tuesday after another lengthy public hearing.

“Lawlessness has no place in Virginia Beach,” Galindez said.  But the only time the controllers believe that is when they control the laws.

I disagree with the notion that the state would be able to enforce its laws.  It depends upon which laws and how.

If the county officers are willing to prevent state officers from confiscatory orders, they can stop it.  If they are only willing to refuse themselves to be involved, it cannot be stopped and these protests are merely symbolic.

As for purchase of new firearms, it’s legal to buy long guns in adjacent states.  It’s not legal under current ATF rules to buy handguns anywhere else without an FFL review in your home state before the weapon crosses state lines.  That’s a problem because the FedGov controls that, not the state.  Here it depends upon just how far the sanctuary counties and cities are willing to go to prevent FedGov from arrest and prosecutorial powers in sanctuaries.

So I see it as entirely feasible to prevent confiscation if they are willing.  I see it as much more problematic to ensure the purchase of new [illegal] firearms.

It gets spicier from here.  We’re only just beginning.  Both sides are feeling froggy.  Patriots have some real work to do in Roanoke.