[url]http://www.sierratimes.com/02/04/25/arjb042502.htm[/url]

[make link with url code - Paul]

I wrote this response -

Most citizens and yes most members of Congress and the legal community fall far short in their
understanding of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Both documents are the culmination of genius and courage the likes of which we may never see again.
They represent a doctrine that is unmistakable in its intent, to empower the people and keep us free from the oppression of government.
When written the Constitution was elaborated upon by our Founding Fathers most notably through the Federalist Papers.  It would do us all well to visit those papers from time to time and make them part of the curriculum we teach our children.
I have read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  I have also read the Federalist Papers and the writings of many of the great men that founded this country.  Our Constitution is what it is and only as good as the men and women who serve it and this country.  If those who seek to serve the public are corrupt then they make this document corrupt.  If they are people of good stature then the document is strong and vital.
Nowhere, not in the Constitution nor the Bill of Rights, does it say that our rights and freedom will not be trampled upon because these rules and rights have been enumerated.  However, over and over, the writers of these bills warn that it is our duty as a people and citizen of this nation to be wary and pull in the reigns of government gone astray.  No less than Thomas Jefferson advised that we tear it down by force if the need arises.
There has been more written about the Second Amendment and its importance to a free people than any other article.  In an address to the second session of the First Congress Washington stated; ?Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself.  They are the American people?s liberty, teeth and keystone under independence.?
We are the keepers of the Constitution and our tools forged in the Bill of Rights.  If some choose to usurp or ignore their duty then it is up to the remainder to set them straight.  Even if it is just the few who choose to make it their duty to fight to maintain our liberty then I hope I am among them and pray that our posterity remembers us fondly.
That is why I am armed and will remain armed.  Should there come a day when the need arises I will march into the fray armed and ready to keep freedom for myself and yes even for those who would give it away to suit their own needs.