From: Michael S. Lorrey (mike@lorrey.com)
Date: Fri May 28 1999 - 15:35:28 MDT
Joshua Clingenpeel wrote:
> Bad news, Brian. Second Amendment was written during a time when people
> carried flint-lock muzzle-loaders, when they were concerned with British
> troops crashing down the front door, when armed combat was an honorable
> affair.
Wrongo. Many of the signors of the Decl. of Ind. owned their own cannon. Armed
combat and even duelling was an honorable affair, but the fact they are not now
says volumes to the degeneracy of the value of honor in society than to the
currency of the concept of self defense.
> Unfortunately, the Second Amendment is one of the only Amendments
> to the Constitution that has not properly stood the tests of time. It is
> reasonable for a person to keep a gun in their home, but realize that there
> has been a surge of lawsuits involving would-be burglars suing home-owners
> for damage inflicted upon them by firearms and knives. There are now legal
> precedents making it difficult for home-owners to maintain their right to
> use their guns in the privacy of their own home.
The only precedents which have withstood court tests are those where a homeowner
shot a criminal in the back as they were leaving the domicile. And those were in
states that don't respect much of the Constitution anymore anyways.
> The important thing to remember is that gun safety and gun control are
> important; people should educate their children to respect and understand
> guns, and efforts should be made to make it difficult to own a gun. I
> personally have no problem with people owning firearms, keeping them in
> their homes. But as soon as you hit the streets packing heat, you're a
> potential threat to everyone around you. The NRA's spokesmen and their
> red-in-the-face, pry-it-from-my-cold-dead-fingers attitude is frightening,
> fascist, and indicative of barbarism. Personal security aside, you just
> want to feel big and powerful.
One warning: Don't ever accuse me of fascism. The definition of fascism is as
follows:
from Encyclopedia.com:
"philosophy of government that glorifies the nation-state at the expense
of the individual... Fascism generally gains support by promising social
justice to discontented elements of the working and middle classes, and
social order to powerful financial interests."
This describes the gun controllers FAR more than anyone who has ever promoted
gun rights.
I will repeat what I have said before: Gun owners are demonstrated to be far
more peaceful, non-confrontational, and less likely to commit violent crimes
than non-gun owners. That is far more civilized than the spasms of street
violence and government opression we have seen from the likes of gun
controllers.
Mike Lorrey
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