Great letter to the editor in Urinal Star

[Dan W]

http://journalstar.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letter-armed-citizenry-necessary/article_87ffa116-d18f-5b53-8ff5-4377e4adc8ba.html

Tom DeShazo argued that semiautomatic assault rifles should only be for the military and police in his letter ("Gutless silence on guns," July 27). But if only police and the military have firearms of military or near-military quality, who is to stop authorities from instituting a military dictatorship and taking away our rights?

An unarmed population cannot revolt because they are defenseless. We have the Constitution, but what if a president or military leader decides to ignore the Constitution and declare martial law?

The only effective deterrent to governmental intrusion upon individual rights is the ability to resist tyranny with force. The reason it is important and has been important in American history that individuals have personal firearms is that with such weapons they can rise up in revolt against a tyrant, whether it be King George III, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, or any other despot.

We must not forget that when the colonists fought the British at Lexington and Concord, it was to protect their stores of muskets and ammunition. The Declaration of Independence asserts "that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form."

~Read more at the link~

[lneuke]

Big comment war of course after the article.  I swear people are bred to believe everything anti gun and to not think for themselves.

Great article though, good job to whoever wrote it (if they're on this board).

[cckyle]

Good letter.  I read through some of the comments.  The first one I read said, "Are you saying we should be able to buy rocket launchers and bomb making material?"  Haha, little do they know, we can, and would, we just don't make enough money.  The comments on letters like this baffle me.  It's surprising how little people really know.  Yet they will cling to train of thought about gun control and defend it to the death, without really knowing anything about guns, rights, or reasoning.  Some of these people hate guns, and know nothing about them what-so-ever, but all of the sudden when they wanna talk pro gun control, they know everything about them.   

[wallace11bravo]

"Are you saying we should be able to buy rocket launchers and bomb making material?" 

As per military classification, those are classified as shoulder launched munitions, not small arms. "Bomb making material" (which is WIDELY available to everyone: diesel fuel, ammonium nitrate, spark plug, battery) is classified as ordnance.

I also like the tank or nuclear weapons examples that the anti-gunners like to use. Tanks are vehicles, not weapons. Some armored vehicles do have weapons, but they also have radios... does that mean that a tank is also classified as a radio? Nuclear weapons are classified as ordnance, again, not small arms.

[Lorimor]

The anti-gun average commentor on the LJS is clearly ignorant about guns and gun laws.  They will make you nuts with their inanity.  Facts are inconsequential.