"Dave Hinz" wrote in message
...

How many shots have you fired in the cause of supporting the Fourth
Amendment, Dave? And who was it you were shooting at?

You don't understand the concept of "don't do (thing), it's too risky",
do you Ed.

No, I don't, and I seriously doubt if you do either, Dave. Why don't you
explain it to us? Tell us about how many alliga...er, Democrats, you've
kept
away by threatening them with your guns.

Ed. I never said anything of that sort, so please don't presume to
speak for me. My point, which is blisteringly clear, is that if the
democrats were to disarm us, then when when anyone else tries to take
away the rest of our rights, we'll be powerless to do anything. Nobody
is crossing the line, _because_ we can do something about it if they
try.

And that, Dave, is the alligator argument. You're keeping them away, because
of a presumed effect you've never tested, but only imagined.

To avoid a long go-around, I'll tell you what I think the 2nd Amendment
does. We can discuss what it *means* another time. g It functions as a
powerful symbol that the citizens of this country are in charge, and let no
one in government forget it. It reinforces the depth and breadth of
individual liberties that we recognize.

These symbolic functions are not to be trivialized. It's actually fun to
watch Europeans and others try to make fun of it, or express horror over it,
because it's perhaps the most important thing that distinguishes us from
them -- and which reminds us how much we don't really want to be like them,
at this fundamental, visceral level.

If that's what you mean by protecting our rights, this figurative sense,
then I agree with you. If you mean it literally, that government stays
within bounds because it fears your guns, then think again. After 200 years
the vast majority of us are strongly attached to this form of government,
which allows extreme opportunity to express our views and to change the
government, and we would no sooner rebel with guns than the people that John
Brown and Tim McVeigh thought would follow them -- but who wound up killing
them instead. You could start a Whiskey Rebellion and die a sorry death. You
could try to be Shay and die despised. What you WON'T do is threaten the
government with your guns and get away with it. Like Brown and McVeigh found
out, there are 100 of us who would kill you before we'd join you, for every
one that would follow you.

So you can think of our government as consisting of intelligent alligators.
They recognize the principle and the context, and the seriousness of this
country's citizens when it comes to protecting what we love. But they don't
fear your guns.

--
Ed Huntress