Name:   copperline - Subject:   How long is the lifespan of a gun? Date:   1/21/2013 12:59:47 AM

Just how much an armed civilian US population prevents an authoritarian swing in govt is something i’m not so sure about….. but fundamentally, yes… governments can and do dominate people throughout history, and the powers of government need to be kept in check by the rule of law based on Democratic principles of freedom, self-determination, etc .  

But because we are citizens of the largest, most successful, most politically stable, most powerful and richest economy in the world, i don’t think the threats exist in the same way you do.     An armed populace may serve to keep the government in check in theory, but …..how much?   And is the historical influence of an armed population still as much of a deterrent to tyranny now as it was in 1776?     i just don’t think it would be.  

 i am just saying that we get more far protections from our right to vote, assemble, and speak out than from our right to bear arms. … and that this round of gun control efforts will not compromise any part of the 2^nd Amendment.