On Sat, 11 Jan 2003 19:36:03 -0000, John Sparks wrote: <snip> > Perhaps the only truly civilised society would be one where everyone was > allowed to own weapons but no-one wanted to take up the option.
No ... because fear and hidden agendas could be the reason for persons to not "take up the option." Rather, the only truly civilised society would be one where everyone was allowed to, and did, own weapons ... but they had no use other than for sporting events and competitions. I "live in a free country"; that country passed a law which made my 80 year old mother a felon -- because she still had the semi-automatic .22 cal rifle I used to hunt rabbits to feed us many years ago, and it was capable of holding more than 20 rounds of ".22 shorts." I "live in a free country" where a man insane on crystal and hunting for an "enemy" decided to hunt in MY home ... and his attempts to kick in my metal sheathed front door twisted the tongue on the latch so badly we were almost unable to open it after he left. [We slept with a couch in front of the door that night, because we dared not attempt to latch the door back up, and repairs weren't possible until the next day.] At the time, my rifle was in one place, the bolt in a second, and the ammo in a third; a 50+ disabled veteran armed with a cane, and a 17 yo boy with a short bo, would not have survived if the berserker had made it through the door and decided to vent his insanity upon us. I "live in a free country" where acts of, or confessions to, child molestation are protected from "the law" because a church is involved. I "live in a free country" where I must perjure myself as a witness in order for the jury to believe me. [I am not Christian, swearing an oath on The Bible is meaningless to me, but if I "aver" to tell the truth then I suddenly become an untrustworthy weirdo.] I "live in a free country" where I'm allowed to yell FIRE!! in a crowded theater, if there is a fire ... but people don't run because they have decided that they don't want to believe a fire could possible "happen here." Freedom isn't about guns, it's about the NEED for guns. Freedom isn't about politics, it's having the power to control politicians. Freedom isn't about free speech, it's about being able to speak so that others can hear and understand. Democracy -- to paraphrase Sir Winston Churchil -- is a crappy form of government, but so far it's the best one out there. ==== -- If a country is to remain free its citizens must defy unjust laws. The new "anti-terrorism" laws abridge the rights of us all. It is time to keep the snoopers busy; how about a little Carnivore confusion "noise": Allah be PGP arms Anthrax cropduster funds transfer customs Mecca infidel jihad Bush EOT -- Arachne V1.70;rev.3, NON-COMMERCIAL copy, http://arachne.cz/
