The anti-gunners want to create a society in which no one legally owns guns. Presumably, they would then begin work on creating a society in which no one would need a gun. This sounds a bit like pushing with a rope. Thomas Paine had some thoughts on this: "The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside... Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them..."

The gun control advocates' agenda is to disarm you. They are saying they want only "reasonable restrictions", while agitating for draconian laws to disarm all who are law-abiding. They are well aware that the laws being proposed will do little to prevent criminals from obtaining and using guns against you. They just feel that disarming you is the first achievable step to disarming the world.

We should turn the energy we expend fighting one another into a fight against criminals. In the early Sixties, a movement started which broke the back on rampant killing and torture which was condoned or ignored by law enforcement officials in much of the United States. The Civil Rights movement was energized by the 1965 march on Selma, Alabama. The Civil Rights movement eventually took back the country for a small portion of the population which had been illegally disenfranchised by the majority. This movement succeeded because enough people took action, rather than just talking about what "people should do" and how "people should act." Some of the people in that movement were killed. Others were jailed, beaten, terrorized and persecuted. The movement persevered and prevailed.

We have the power to take back our streets and neighborhoods. It will not happen by gunners roaming the streets with enough firepower to crush an army, but by showing sheer strength of numbers. We do not need to take our arms into the streets for this task. Taking our arms into the streets in vigilantism will only discredit our cause. Seek out and join with the gun control advocates (and anyone else you can find) to establish neighborhood watches, neighborhood patrols and common defense committees. Help create choices for the kids who otherwise have nothing to turn to but the gangs.

The disagreement between gunners and anti-gunners on the issue of gun ownership and Constitutional rights must not be disagreement on community safety. If the Sons of Liberty, about 5 percent of the population at that time, could stave off the depredations of the mightiest nation on earth, the Grandchildren of Liberty should be able to handle a few thugs. Get out there in numbers and work with the police and your neighbors. According to the U. S. Department of Justice, your odds are only about 2.6 in 1000 that you will face an armed criminal. Compare that to your 22 in 1000 odds of being injured in a motor vehicle accident. You can help put an end to the problems which cause well-meaning people to call for destruction of our rights for the sake of temporary safety.