I guess I maybe sound wishy washy but I DO think folks should be able to own any firearm/round they want. I just wish there were some way to keep them from over the counter sales to scumbags. But THAT causes again another whole set of problems/infringement upon our rights. I'm even confusing myself now so I'll shut up now.

Glock 19. Reliable and for some reason I just seem to hit what I aim at, something about the way they point maybe. Plus this very easy to carry pistol carries enough ammo to handle just about anything I can envision.

So I may have missed it in the talk of the five-seven, but I've read that the BATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) approved the sale of the five-seven in the USA because the round that can penetrate body armor is only available to law enforcement agencies and military. In other words, only sporting ammunition that cannot penetrate body armor is available to the public. That being said, the more I learn about the FN Five-Seven, the more I want one. I like being able to shoot at targets that are farther than 15 yards away from me, and the five-seven looks like a great round for longer distance handgun target shooting. Also, as mentioned earlier, I'm sure there are plenty of rifle rounds that can penetrate body armor, so I don't see opposition (in America) to the five-seven as anything more than an anti-gun political move, just like the ban of the .50 BMG here in California. When is the last time you heard of a crime being committed with a 30 lb rifle that uses ammunition that costs $3+ per round? It was all political. Besides, nobody's freaking out about the .416 Barrett, and that is claimed to be more powerful than a .50 BMG at over 1000 yards.

Back to the handguns, though, I'm really enjoying my new XD9! I'm very happy with the three free magazines I got from Springfield, so now I have 5 total.

I own a couple of Sigs and my EDC pistol is a Glock 19. Reason? Pretty much everything above. I wouldn't even shoot one for years, but when I finally did I realized that I was missing out.

And yet, in today's society, I am constantly amazed at the lack of understanding that we the people seem to have about threat of tyranny. The attitude seems to be complacency--it could never happen in the US; we are too politically advanced for that.

Not advocating jumping into the woods with a militia, but the more I contemplate the subject, the more convinced I am that our freedom is a fragile thing that needs to be nurtured and protected. The more rights we cede to the government, the less we have, even if it means we all feel a little safer. We seem to have a rising generation that neither understands nor cares about the Constitution, the division of powers, or the limits on the federal government.

The erosion of rights happens gradually, bit by bit, like the proverbial frog in the pot. Were you to throw the frog in a pot of boiling water, it would try to escape. But add a degree at a time and it will eventually be boiled alive without trying to jump out of the pot.

While I am not convinced there is a vast conspiracy to take away our rights, I am concerned that we as a society are growing too complacent in our trust in our government, which I am fairly certain, based on their writings, is something that the founding fathers never wanted to have happen. Too often we think of the government as granting us rights rather than those rights innately belonging to us.

The 2nd Amendment stands as a true defense of the rights guaranteed in the Constitution and an ultimate check on the excesses of government. And while I think there ought to be regulations governing the exercise of that right (do we really want mentally unstable psychopaths or violent felons buying guns?), I cringe when the debate turns from rational discussion of how to make sure guns don't get into the hands of dangerous people (not stopping "dangerous guns" from getting into the hands of people) to the need to ban certain types of guns because they look scary or threatening, or preventing people from buying dangerous high capacity magazines. There is an increasingly effeminate segment of our society that is terrified of any sort of weapon and wants to impose their beliefs that guns are the root of all evil onto society as a whole, regardless of what the Constitution says.

I've lived in places where the government grants freedoms; where their constitutions change almost daily and are as meaningless as the papers they are written on. I've seen first hand societies that answer to their governments instead of the other way around. The people's spirits are often broken. Those that demand change or ask at the very minimum that the government abide by its own constitution are punished, persecuted, tortured, or watch their families get tortured. The funny thing is, in just about all of the examples I can think of, once the revolutionary government is set up, the first thing it does is take the guns away from the average revolutionaries and the rest of the citizenry.

For the record, I am NOT by any stretch of the imagination advocating armed rebellion (or even unarmed for that matter). I just appreciate the liberties enshrined in the Constitution and wish that our countrymen would stand up and become engaged in the political system and be adults, willing to exercise their rights and accept the responsibilities.

Wow. That was one heck of a late night rant. I should never type when I'm this tired.

Hey look at that. I guess I AM a right wing nut job.

Remember, George Washington didn't defeat the British by exercising his freedom of speech. He shot them. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

And to keep this related to the forum, I fully believe the 2nd Amendment protects our right to carry Dogfathers and scrapivores as well <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Apologies if I've offended anyone with this post.

Well said. I think that you have stated the sentements of all us "Right wing Nut Jobs"!

We basically want the Government to SERVE us, NOT be our masters, as it is rapidly doing by leaps and bounds. We are perfectly able to live our own lives without "Them" telling us we don't know how.

To "THEM" I say, IF I want you I will let you know. Otherwise go bug someone else!

Joshua, very much my viewpoint, but written much more eloquently. Thank you.

Very good post DT I'm with you.

You're right Randy, WE are perfectly capable of living our own lives. But sadly a large portion of the population has been so indoctrinated and brainwashed that they can't live thier own lives without someone else telling them what to do. It was one thing to teach and educate, but it's another thing entirely when that schooling renders the learnee inert and incompetent. Alas the product is a grim slow death of a country by a thousand cuts, small infringements here and there on our rights until one day, people will wake up and realize they don't have any rights anymore.

They can come and take them, when they pry them from my cold dead fingers. And NOT before I take the fight to them.

Hmmm...What should I do? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Don't kill the messenger just because you don't like the message. Firearms don't kill --- PEOPLE do! Would the Arizona killings be any more acceptable if they had been done with a knife, a pipe bomb, quarter-stick with ball bearings attached?!? I think not.
NEVER relinquish your freedoms, no matter how "small or trivial" they may seem! The Death of a Thousand Cuts" really IS a threat to a free society, and folks should be aware of it! Our founding fathers KNEW what they were doing! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I often find myself in my wishes for a society where we all CAN get along together confusing others and sometimes myself when I actually THINK about it. I want a polite society where everyone gets alongs and plays nice. WON'T HAPPEN! So just let me live my life with the MORAL values that have been instilled in me, WITHOUT government intruding upon my life and I will not intrude upon them. BUT in 1972 I took an oath to defend the United States Of America, against any and ALL threats both foreign AND domestic, if necessary. I do not take back my oaths!

They are supposed to work FOR us, not against us. If they don't, we should fire them and elect someone else next time.

It's about time, it's PAST time for THEM to realize that a weapon, ANY thing that can be used as a weapon, is not evil and does NOT need to be Banned. IT'S THE EVIL PEOPLE that need to be seen about, not a tool.