Marc,
I'm actually enjoying your responses, because they make me think.

Quote:

That’s fine with me, and very much as I suspected – we’re not dealing with rational argument here but something that goes far deeper.

I still don’t altogether see:
- how being able to shoot a small piece of metal at another human being is a synonym for freedom
- how a Right enshrined in an Act passed by the US Congress in 1791 was actually conferred by God

…but I’m working on it.



'Freedom', at least to MY POINT OF VIEW, varies by situation. While I have the ABILITY to drive 100 mph through town, my freedom would be drastically curtailed if I did it in front of a police officer, since the speed limit is 35 mph. I would be in violation of the law, and certain freedoms which I take for granted would be suspended for a period of time while I spent some of my old age in the county lockup.

On the other hand, if people like Winston Churchill had not stood up against an oppression of tyranny, and sent millions of small pieces of metal against other human beings, would you be 'free?' Likewise, how 'free' would I be if I were knifed, or beat up, or otherwise harmed and injured if someone were to move from our 'civilized' societal norms and were to violate me and my person? By the way, I *have* been assaulted a few times, robbed a few times, and had that 'freedom' removed from me. I've made a decision that I won't allow it to happen again. Could Churchill and the House of Commons simply have sat back and said 'oh, it doesn't matter, we don't want to hurt them;' and if so, where would you be today? A German citizen? Look outside your window and think what that might look like if a Swastika flew outside your yard.

Secondly, our Constitution begins with 'We the people....' and I may be missing it, but I see no reference to a RIGHT being conferred by God that citizens have the right to bear arms. 'We the people....'

Surprisingly enough...or may not, is this. This is taken from the Wikipedia article on the United States Constitution, and is under the section about The Bill of Rights.

Quote:

The United States Bill of Rights consists of the ten amendments added to the Constitution in 1791, as supporters of the constitution had promised critics during the debates of 1788.[15] The English Bill of Rights (1689) was an inspiration for the American Bill of Rights. Both require jury trials, contain a right to keep and bear arms, prohibit excessive bail and forbid "cruel and unusual punishments." Many liberties protected by state constitutions and the Virginia Declaration of Rights were incorporated into the Bill of Rights.



Please note the bold face and italicized text. Please explain to me where the U.K. changed that.

I hope I'm helping in your understanding.

I am NOT trying to take sides, I simply am stating what I understand to be true, as applies to the United States of America

Gary

I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!