http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2010/0304/Behind-Supreme-Court-case-Do-gun-rights-protect-against-tyranny
Great post Oscardeuce! It's the most uncomfortable aspect of gun rights that neither side want to address. I, too, think that our forefathers believed the right to own firearms was intrinsic to the ability of the people to defend themselves against criminals, foreign invasion and tyranny. I think to the left, the "breathing" Constitution is there to be changed and usurped and having 100 million citizens armed and ready to defend the Constitution scares them and that is their priority in gun control. It's clearly not to fight crime as the link I posted is one minuscule example of that futility. On the right, we tend to not espouse the idea of fighting tyranny as a right for gun ownership for fear the left will cry anarchy and we will be labled as anti-government. However, with the desperate left already labeling us lawful gun owners as "right wing militias" and their constant portrayal of us as unhinged lunatics, more people are expressing that same sentiment. I know our legislature here in Arizona made no effort to hide that as part of their reasoning for liberalizing gun laws. I seriously question politicians who think it is their prerogative to arbitrarily take away the God given rights of the citizens that they answer to and the citizens who fearfully give their rights to power hungry politicians.