Would You Support Stricter Federal Training Requirements in Exchange for National CCW Reciprocity?

This is a question for both the pro-gun and pro-control sides.

I've been engaged in a back-and-forth PM session with another member who favors more gun control, and this idea for a compromise came up.

How would you feel about being able to pack heat (concealed-carry) anywhere in the contiguous 48 states without having to worry about violating some states' arbitrary laws during long-range road trips, if it meant having to put up with more rigorous training requirements to qualify to get a Federal CCW permit?

This would mean that unrestricted states like Alaska, Arizona, and Vermont would have to adopt stricter uniform Federal training standards, but on the flip-side, states like California, Illinois, and New York couldn't deny permits altogether, or only issue them if you are rich or politically well-connected.

I'm thinking this might be one area of compromise which might satisfy most (but not all) pro-gun folks, and most (but not all) pro-control folks, and be able to get Congress and President Obama to come together and deliver on during Obama's second term.

Touching the Void (2003)

Have any of you NOT seen this incredible movie? Queue it up on Netflix if you haven't.

Its based off the true story of two expert mountain ice-climbers who take on one of the tallest peaks in the Peruvian Andes. They become the first known people to make it all the way to the top, but like with most climbs, the descent is the trickier part. On the way down one of them breaks his leg, which leads them to have to make some very hard decisions if at least one of them wants to come out alive, as they only brought minimal fuel to melt snow into water. (And mountain climbing is a VERY thirsty business.)

I won't spoil the ending, but let me just say that for those who say there are no atheists in fox-holes, it appears that there are some on mountain-tops. Despite facing certain death, the idea of calling out to God never even entered this lapsed Catholic's picture.

A very inspirational and moving story.

Is the Internet Responsible for Americans Losing Their Faith?

Check this out:



It seems as if the ranks of the "Nones" didn't start really start gaining ground until the mid-1990's, just as the Internet was picking up steam.



Again, as the free-flow of information and ideas online became more widespread, the numbers of non-believing youth began to rise, surpassing that of young evangelicals around the turn of the century.

The following graph suggests that more liberals are losing their faith, whereas conservatives are "stubbornly clinging to their Bibles," as President Obama suggested during the 2008 campaign:



Lots more charts and graphs here:

http://www.pewforum.org/American-Grace--How-Religion-Divides-and-Unites-Us.aspx

73% of Protestant Pastors Reject the Theory of Evolution