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Thursday, July 03, 2008
Larry Elder :: Townhall.com Columnist
Why Do We 'Keep and Bear Arms'? Part 1
by Larry Elder
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Dictators throughout history sought to disarm their citizenries in order to impose power:

Vladimir Lenin said, "One man with a gun can control 100 without one."

Mao Zedong said, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun."

Josef Stalin said: "We don't let them have ideas. Why would we let them have guns?"

Adolf Hitler said: "The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so."

Thomas Paine, in 1775, spoke about another kind of "tyranny." Bans and restrictions on firearms affect the law-abiding citizenry, shifting power to the non-law-abiding. Criminals ignore laws. That's why we call them criminals. Paine said: "The peaceable part of mankind will be continually overrun by the vile and abandoned while they neglect the means of self-defense. … (Weakness) allures the ruffian (but) arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe and preserve order in the world. … Horrid mischief would ensue were (the good) deprived of the use of them. … The weak will become a prey to the strong."

Oh, the prominent Democrat quoted in the first paragraph? It was said Oct. 22, 1959, by future senator and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey. How times -- and much of the Democratic Party -- have changed.

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About The Author
Larry Elder is a syndicated radio talk show host and best-selling author. His latest book, "What's Race Got to Do with It?" is available now.
 
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(195 comments so Far)
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Reply # 1
Date: Jul 12, 2008 - 5:26 PM EST
Higene supports criminals
Higene says "we are giving street gangs the right to shoot us all at will, and with no reprocussions or consequences."

Criminals have no rights to commit any crime, but it seems that as a San Franciscan, you support criminal activity.

Here is an article on S.F. effectively letting crack dealers go free:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/01 /MNR211HGVL.DTL

"Give me an answer to this problem: The existence of guns at random within our society is a point of arms escalation that desperately needs and must be tamed down. Forget the freaking 2nd Amendment however you interpret it. We’ve got to get rid of the freaking guns!"

You also stated that the police has a list of gang members. As gangs exist for illegal activities, what is being done to take them off the streets? Eradicating them also takes the illegal guns off the streets.

"We’ve got to get rid of the freaking guns!"
No, We’ve got to get rid of the freaking gangs!


For those of you that say, why bother having a gun to prevent an oppressive government, since you are outgunned, Afghanistan and Iraq is also outgunned. Looks like we have them under control.

Since you feel that way, why do you have a spare tire in your car? What if you have 2 bad tires? Why have a fire extinguisher in your home, if the fire is too big, you are wasting your time.
Why do you have life insurance, are you hoping to die, and have your heirs "win the lottery"?
For those in California, why stock up on supplies in case of earthquakes? Don't they say if the big one arrives, that California will break off and sink, and Nevada will have beaches? Or after a quake, do you think you will get on the internet and order what you need, and it will be delivered?

Life has risks, you can take steps to control unexpected problems, or "disarm", stick your head somewhere, and give up.
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Reply # 2
Date: Jul 11, 2008 - 9:12 AM EST
Left Angle
After viewing their "arsenals" one has to wonder exactly WHO are they expecting to DEFEND themselves against? you tell me.

People like you who would take away their 2nd ammendment rights before you took away the rest.

The American people need to wake up and take stock of what they have lost. Your property can be taken away so the city can create a tax base. Your freedom of speech has been labeled "hate speech" if it isn't politically correct. McCain/Feingold and before long the "fairness doctrine". The SCOTUS is already imposing international law on the American people and don't get me started on those enviro NAZIs at the EPA. The second ammendment is our last line of defense once it is gone the "Fat Lady" will be warming up her vocal cords.
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