A Usenet persona calling itself Michael Daly wrote:

On 24-Feb-2005, Scott Weiser wrote:

This demonstrates the depth of your misunderstanding. The whole point of our
2nd Amendment and our very system of government is that the government does
not "permit" anything.

But you keep ignoring the _fact_ that your government and any government
can restrict rights.

Only by force if the citizenry will not obey. And yes, it is true that any
"government" (comprised in this case of a group of people who claim power
and have force available to back up that claim) can "restrict rights," just
as the National Socialist Party did in Germany in the 1930s, provided that
they have the forces available to accomplish that task in the face of
resistance by the citizenry. So what? You state the obvious while ignoring
the equally true fact that no such tyranny can prevail if the people being
oppressed resolve not to be oppressed and have sufficient arms to put down
the attempt at tyranny.

That is a fact. Your government has restricted
the rights of blacks, Indians, women and others in the past and still
can't muster full freedom for all citizens.

Hogwash. Every citizen in the US is as "fully free" as any other. Even Ward
Churchill.


As long as you can't guarantee that your government will never change
rights, you will never be absolutely free.

We can guarantee that. That's what the 2nd Amendment is all about.

A few fat men with guns
notwithstanding.

110 million households with more than 360 million guns is anything but "a
few fat men with guns."

As a testament to the willingness of average, law-abiding armed citizens to
put themselves at risk to defend others, you might want to check out the
example of 52 year old Mark Wilson, an armed citizen who happened to be
present when David Arroyo Sr. murdered his ex-wife. Wilson fired on Arroyo
when Arroyo began shooting at his ex-wife with a semi-automatic rifle
outside a county courthouse. Unfortunately for Wilson, Arroyo was wearing
body armor, and Wilson, along with Maribel Estrada, the ex-wife, were
killed. Deputies later killed Arroyo during a car chase.

Had Arroyo not been wearing body armor, which is the case with most deranged
shooters, it is possible that Wilson could have ended the attack right then
and there.

Disrespecting law-abiding armed citizens by calling them "fat men with guns"
is both petty and mean-spirited. It's my guess that had YOU been standing
next to Estrada when Arroyo began shooting, you would have been ****ing your
pants and praying that someone, ANYONE with a gun would come to your
defense. Whether you believe it or not, I would have done the same thing
Wilson did, even if it meant getting killed in the process...and even if you
were at risk. You see, unlike you, I am not a coward, and I am willing to
put my life on the line to protect others.
--
Regards,
Scott Weiser

"I love the Internet, I no longer have to depend on
friends, family and co-workers, I can annoy people WORLDWIDE!" TM

© 2005 Scott Weiser