Roger Hicks Loc: Aquitaine

Eh?

NOTHING you can keep at home is worth much against an aggressor nation armed with tanks and aircraft. In pre-invasion Tibet, the only firearms control was what you could afford. The families of most of my Tibetan friends had guns: one family even had a Bren gun in the basement. Much good it did them!

"The right to keep and bear arms" is an empty fantasy in the 21st century (as it was in the 20th), unless perhaps it is coupled with a genuinely 'well-regulated militia' as in Switzerland. Fantasists with side-arms aren't in the running: the only sensible weapon for a 'well regulated militia' is an assault rifle capable of fully automatic fire.

As for this 'bailing out the French' thing, as I said before, the Americans didn't win the war single-handed, though some seem to think they did. The British were in there first, before anyone else took on the Axis; the Russians lost more people than any other Allied power; and even though the Poles, the Free French, etc., were small in numbers (and even smaller in material resources, using mostly American weapons), their contribution was far from negligible. Again as I said before, any sane European is profoundly grateful for what the Americans did in WW2, especially the supply of matériel but equally, any sane European gets rather tired of the "We won the war" loudmouths. As indeed do sane Americans.

Finally, as my wife pointed out (she's from New York State), since WW2, what's the balance between the number of wars the Americans have lost, and the number they have won?

Cheers,

R.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Done!

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

This poor guy didn't have a chance. Even if he had a side arm he couldn't have used it in time.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

One sane American tired of it here..... :(

berchman Loc: South Central PA

After learning from Massad Ayoob's gun course what a sh*t storm will descend upon you after using a gun for self-defense (cops will arrest, lawyer fees, civil suit from assailant's family) I prefer pepper spray and a knife, if necessary, and fleet feet. I prefer to stay out of dangerous environments and to de-escalate possible confrontations. Yes, when all else fails and one's life is at stake, then a gun *might* help, but I have seen police videos of perpetrators shot with 00 buck and they keep coming.

david trierweiler Loc: Holt,Michigan

Should hve let the Germans keep France

Barb Loc: ALASKA

I live in ALASKA .. very small town .. walk in the woods and I carry my Canon EOS 60D !! :) Good for gym!

digicamking Loc: Raleigh, NC

You nailed it and When the forefathers wrote the constitution they provided us with an unalienable right to bear arms. The Bloombergs and Soros's along with our present administration are intent on destroying that right. We must be vigilant or we will have lost another of our freedoms.

Edmund Dworakowski

I travel light and carry my new Fuji X100 and S&W M60 Chief Special .38...Both give a big bang for the buck.

Bails40

9 years in the military, fought in a war, know way too much about guns and seen what they are capable of doing. So the only thing I shoot with now, is my Camera... No harm, no foul...

Bill Emmett Loc: Bow, New Hampshire

Yes, not a good retirement area. High sales tax, low property tax, and nations #1 in violent crime. Crime in New Orleans is in EVERY neighborhood, no one is actually safe. Uptown is now going through a rash of "stop and rob at gun point". Lakeview has had its share of "door busters". Mid City is a hot bed for car thieves, and car jacks. French Quarter, purse snatchers, murder, and robbery. Bywater, burglery, murder and stray bullets, shootings. But, you could just go to Jefferson Parish, next door and seldom see any of this.

knightmarian

Wow. I love the French and the Brits! :) I suppose if I wandered around in the woods more I might pack. Seeing as how I rarely get the opportunity to leave my yard, nope. I do carry an axe just in case I run into a nasty old water snake that chooses to stalk me. However, that hasn't happened in years.....

Brow621 Loc: Texas

Yep, I take my camera with me most of the time & also one of Mr Walther's finest 40 caliber deterrents.

Roger Hicks Loc: Aquitaine

The purpose of the right to keep and bear arms is clearly alienable, divisible and regulable: how many states permit the possession of machine guns?

More to the point, while the right to keep and bear arms made military sense in a young, fragile country at a very low stage of technological development, it has not made any military sense whatsoever in the last 100 years or so.

There are many good reasons to own guns. Vermin control. Hunting. Target practice for fun. Arguably (though it really is rather arguable) self defence. But none of these has anything to do with the original 'well regulated militia'.

Cheers,

R.

Goldwinger Loc: Boynton Beach Florida

I would ( and DO carry my .380 ) rather then ever visit the scumb bag country of France , and yes I was there in 76 and got mugged . And it was a hate crime because as they pounded on me they kept yelling go back to America ...... took 6 of them frenchies to take me down !