The Politics Of Gene Wolfe

Jeff Wilson · 19 Mar 2009, 12:57 · from 2009-March.txt.gz

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From: jwilson at io.com (Jeff Wilson)
Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:57:57 -0500
Subject: (urth) The Politics Of Gene Wolfe
In-Reply-To: <b5bac3560903181156o77d628fcj901118b7ab166b65 at mail.gmail.com>
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Cliff Judge wrote:
> 
> I'm going to chime in late, well after the thread has outlived its 
> usefulness, and share that I believe the Amendment was intended to keep 
> arms among the citizenry to enable guerilla warfare against a tyrannical 
> domestic government, or a foreign one.

Thank you!

> I find that the argument that "the government has far better weapons 
> therefore it is moot" is automatic and rhetorical. I wish people who 
> raised that argument would be honest that they make an assumption that 
> the only possible scenario is one where the erstwhile evil government 
> has total control of all of its armed forces.

Again, super!

> But more than anything I dislike the gun ownership movement in the US 
> for maintaining that the Amendment actual provides the right to keep and 
> bear arms for personal defense of self and home against individual 
> crime. If you own weapons, and the lives of your family are threatened, 
> by all means shoot first and live with the legal and moral consequences. 
> But do not insist that you have the inherent right to own a gun to 
> protect yourself against home invasions. This is not provided for by the 
> Amendment.

Not by the 2nd Amendment alone, but the Fourth Amendment extends the 
"free state" to include security in one's property and body.

-- 
Jeff Wilson - jwilson at io.com
< http://www.io.com/~jwilson >

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