RE: Alarming statistics.

["Eric Benson" <ebenson@xxxxxxxx>]

 I think it was Robert Hansen who wrote:

> The simple fact remains that the US is not the UK.  We fought a war just
> to get away from y'all telling us how to live our lives, and by and large,
> we think that was the best decision we ever made.  :)

Let's also add that fighting an armed insurrection for our freedom figures
very strongly in why there was a Second Amendment in the first place.

Yes, at the time, a gun was a required tool for many people, providing a
means of protection and supplying food.  The founding fathers realized that
the government 'for the people, by the people' ran the risk of no longer
serving the people and would need to be replaced in the future.  It's a lot
easier to replace the government when the people are armed.  And that, my
friends, is why the Second Amendment is there.

The early federal government was intentionally much weaker than it is today
and was built around a system of checks (no, not political contributions)
and balances.  Today, they want health care systems, gun control and
prohibitions on speech (see also: Utah's porn queen).

I am not promoting an armed insurrection. No government has - or will -
exist(ed) forever.

-Eric