Liberty is an inherently offensive lifestyle. Living in a free society guarantees that each one of us will see our most cherished principles and beliefs questioned and in some cases mocked. That psychic discomfort is the price we pay for basic civic peace. It's worth it. It's a pragmatic principle. Defend everyone else's rights, because if you don't there is no one to defend yours. -- MaxedOutMama

I don't just want gun rights... I want individual liberty, a culture of self-reliance....I want the whole bloody thing. -- Kim du Toit

The most glaring example of the cognitive dissonance on the left is the concept that human beings are inherently good, yet at the same time cannot be trusted with any kind of weapon, unless the magic fairy dust of government authority gets sprinkled upon them.-- Moshe Ben-David

The cult of the left believes that it is engaged in a great apocalyptic battle with corporations and industrialists for the ownership of the unthinking masses. Its acolytes see themselves as the individuals who have been "liberated" to think for themselves. They make choices. You however are just a member of the unthinking masses. You are not really a person, but only respond to the agendas of your corporate overlords. If you eat too much, it's because corporations make you eat. If you kill, it's because corporations encourage you to buy guns. You are not an individual. You are a social problem. -- Sultan Knish

All politics in this country now is just dress rehearsal for civil war. -- Billy Beck

Tuesday, July 22, 2003

Now HERE's an Interesting Idea

Randy Barnett, Boston School of Law professor, filled in for Glenn Reynolds for his MSNBC column, GlennReynolds.com. His two posts were about the right to arms, and I recommend you read both as they adress the anti-gun argument that the Second Amendment is meaningless because we don't have a "well-regulated militia" anymore. The first piece is here, and the second is here.

Money quote:
So what would Congress be able to do, if it wished, to organize the militia? Here is my suggestion:

Suppose Congress required the local National Guard (the “organized militia”) to organize monthly shooting instruction in small arms — including sidearms and automatic rifles — using weapons supplied by the Guard in government-built local shooting ranges. To be eligible, you would need to be a citizen and to pay at least the cost of the ammunition you would expend. A gun-safety lecture before each session would be mandatory. Do you suppose such shooting sessions would be popular and well-attended? I sure do. I think it would be wildly popular. The government could even make money selling official “U.S. Militia” paraphernalia. And it would all be perfectly constitutional.

As a result, citizen volunteers would be made to feel a part of the militia responsible for collective and personal self-defense. Being entirely voluntary, no one would need to conscientiously object. But tens of thousands of American citizens would also receive instruction in gun safety that could be highly beneficial and save lives. Although I am not a gun owner, I have taken a gun-safety course and it was very illuminating and even chastening. A carrot here would be far more effective than a stick in getting millions of current gun owners to learn more about gun safety.
That is an excellent idea.

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