[W.F. Lantry]

Originally Posted by Quincy Lehr

my reasoning against gun control owes far more to the Panthers and Malcolm X than the NRA.

But Quincy, Malcolm didn't have the 'net. If he'd had access to it, he would have been organizing four man camera crews, dressed in suits, to walk around and document police actions. Recording and exposing their behavior is a far more effective deterrent than retaliatory violence. And it's perfectly legal, since last week...

I hear the 'armed citizenry prevents dictatorship' argument all the time. I've even heard it said the collective group of US armed civilians is the largest armed force in the history of the world. But in real-politik terms, they would be swept aside like a gnat by the military, if a crisis came about. Besides, these days, in democracies at least, dictators tend to get voted into office. Your historical knowledge means I don't need to supply examples for that.

Nor do I need to point out the irony of citing Malcolm here, given the way his final day played out...

Peace,

Bill