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From: sunny@sun.uucp (Sunny Kirsten)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.rec
Subject: Re: Merry Christmas from the NRA
Message-ID: <1951@sun.uucp>
Date: Tue, 15-Jan-85 15:15:18 EST
Article-I.D.: sun.1951
Posted: Tue Jan 15 15:15:18 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 17-Jan-85 04:24:06 EST
References: <1924@sun.uucp> <10827@watmath.UUCP> <1935@sun.uucp> <10907@watmath.UUCP>
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
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Xref: watmath net.politics:6904 net.rec:220

> In article <1935@sun.uucp> sunny@sun.uucp (Sunny Kirsten) writes:
> >> If Sunny's representative, I not sure graduate school in the US is
> >> such a good idea!
> >> 
> >> --andy fyfe		...!{decvax, allegra, ihnp4, et. al}!watmath!wjafyfe
> >> 			wjafyfe@waterloo.csnet
> >
> >say what?  I don't know any graduate schools teaching firearms safety, I
> >haven't been to graduate school, and I didn't see any other mention of
> >graduate schools in the rest of the discussion on:
> >the right to arm bears.
> >Therefore, I presume you've reconsidered coming from Canada to the US for
> >your graduate work?
> >In any case, I'm only representative of myself.
> >				Sunny
> >-- 
> >{ucbvax,decvax,ihnp4}!sun!sunny
> 
> The figures, as I recall, were about 50 deaths in Canada, 10,000 in the
> US.  About 200 times more, for a country only 10 times larger.  What you
> are trying to tell me is that these figures reflect the relative danger
> in living in the US (after all, you seem to think you *need* to own a
> hand gun, while I've never felt that threatened here).  Do I want to
> spend 5 years living in the US if it's as bad as you make it seem?  Just
> for the record, how does crime in general compare?  Does the 20 times
> figure (one tenth of 200) still apply? (Might be interesting to compare
> these figures, particularly the armed vs unarmed crimes.)
> 
> I thought the word "militia" was right next to "right to bear arms".
> Must mean something else to me.
> 
> Clearly we have very opposite and strongly held viewpoints, so I'll be
> quiet now (there's no point in arguing -- it'll go nowhere).
> 
> --Andy Fyfe		...!{decvax, allegra, ihnp4, et. al}!watmath!wjafyfe
> 			wjafyfe@waterloo.csnet

Far better to take the Swiss approach of arming every citizen and letting
the people defend their country, than to have a band of mercenaries hired
by the government (sometimes called an Army) at the political whims of the
President.  This country was founded on the principle of the wisdom of the
People to carry out a just government, and keeping all the people armed
to let them defend against the tyrrany of a government out of control.
Those who left europes tyrranical governments to found the U.S of A. were
determined that they should not again find themselves under a tyrranical
government, and that that government should answer to the people.  The
only guarantee of that is the ability of the armed populace to oust the
government by force when the governmentally enacted procedures fail to
keep it in check.  When the government trys to disarm the populace, you
know it's become tyrranical.  For a just government has no fear of an
armed populace.  Thomas Jefferson was quite a revolutionary radical, no?
Go ahead, forfeit YOUR freedom and arms to the government.  That's the
first step toward state slavery.  I believe in the constitution.

I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the united states of america.
And to the republic for which it stands.  One nation under god,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Our President, congressmen, and senators are sworn to uphold the
constitution of the U.S.  It's not clear to me they weren't lying.
I'm prepared to give my life upholding that constitution, and the principles
it embodies.  It very clearly indicates that it supports the rights
and freedoms of the individual, free of the tyrrany of oppressive government.
Support your country, but never trust it's government.
It takes eternal vigilance to keep your hard-won freedoms.
There are many who would take away your personal freedoms in the interest
of furthering their economic or political interests.
Watch them carefully, and vote them out of office when they threaten
personal freedoms.  When voting fails to remove them, the government
has become tyrranical.  And when that is the case, the "government" is
no longer a constitutional government, and no longer IS the government
of this land which is governed by a piece of paper, the constitution.

				Sunny
-- 
{ucbvax,decvax,ihnp4}!sun!sunny