Quote Originally Posted by Aenlic
The 2nd Amendment is clear. "Shall not be infringed" isn't open to interpretation. Unless and until (hopefully not ever) that Amendment is changed by a new Amendment, there is no way around the language.

I don't own a gun and I'm also so far left of what most people consider "left" that I'm nearly all the way right again. I'm a socialist and a libertarian - an anarchist in a cheap and far too easy one word designation. And yet, my position on individual liberties compels me to support the 2nd Amendment.

You don't violate individual rights for any reason, not even if you think it'll make you safer. Oddly, many of the same people who argue vehemently for individual liberties like the 2nd Amendment don't seem intelligent enough to apply that same logic when it comes to things like The Patriot Act and the 2007 Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5122). You don't trample on individual liberties just because it seems to make one safer. Bad idea.

Luckily, there are still a few real conservatives out there, like former congressman Dick Armey, who feel as I do, even though I'm about as unconservative as they come. I may disagree with people like Armey on almost everything else; but I have to applaud those who have the cahones to apply their principles to all of their positions, not just when convenient.
The esteemed gentleman from Austin is correct.