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<blockquote data-quote="mugsy" data-source="post: 2019420" data-attributes="member: 18914">It is the means to exercise both the right I have to defend myself and my family and the duty I have to assist my community in time of need or crisis.&nbsp; I served my country formally for 24 years but just because I put away the uniform doesn&#039;t mean all my rights or responsibilities go away - they were there when I started as a civilian citizen and they were waiting for me when I retired.&nbsp; To me it is unthinkable that my community or nation should suddenly turn, look at me, and say &quot;You can no longer be trusted, you just sit back and let us do it for you&quot;.&nbsp; Rights and obligations - they are tied together and should not, indeed cannot, be separated.I will also add that gun ownership is, as a last resort, a means to ensure that an abusive government - should one arise - does not have a monopoly on force.&nbsp; All men have a right to possess the means to control their destiny and while freedom of speech, religion, press, etc. are more important in a sense - without the means to secure those rights they mean little.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="mugsy, post: 2019420, member: 18914"] It is the means to exercise both the right I have to defend myself and my family and the duty I have to assist my community in time of need or crisis. I served my country formally for 24 years but just because I put away the uniform doesn't mean all my rights or responsibilities go away - they were there when I started as a civilian citizen and they were waiting for me when I retired. To me it is unthinkable that my community or nation should suddenly turn, look at me, and say "You can no longer be trusted, you just sit back and let us do it for you". Rights and obligations - they are tied together and should not, indeed cannot, be separated. I will also add that gun ownership is, as a last resort, a means to ensure that an abusive government - should one arise - does not have a monopoly on force. All men have a right to possess the means to control their destiny and while freedom of speech, religion, press, etc. are more important in a sense - without the means to secure those rights they mean little. [/QUOTE]

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