<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Stathis Papaioannou via extropy-chat<br><br><b><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>>>…</b>The countries which were or have become tyrannies do not have a second amendment. Without second amendment rights, every country is vulnerable to becoming a tyranny. The fine-sounding constitutions without that critical factor do not sound fine to me… spike<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>>…The US constitution can easily be interpreted by the judiciary to allow banning of weapons…<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>That’s why we have weapons: in case the “judiciary” decides it is allowed to ban weapons.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>>… or formally amended by the legislature…<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Not the legislature. The constitution needs a 2/3 majority of the states to agree to any constitutional amendment and ¾ of the states to ratify.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Regarding the first ten amendments, those are not really amendments, but rather acknowledgement of rights that pre-existed before that particular government was invented. The right to free speech, freedom to assemble, to bear arms and so forth, all existed before the US government. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The US government does not have the authority to amend or repeal human rights. If it asserts that authority in the future, it no longer the US government and is not entitled to the authorities granted to it by the constitution. At that time, there is no professional army, for there is no authority to collect taxes, and no means of paying them. The absence of a professional army is why we have the militia, as the backup.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>>…Also, there are countries where citizens have the constitutional right to weapons, such as Mexico and Guatemala, and others where the citizens actually have a lot of weapons, such as Afghanistan and Somalia, and they are not models of democracy.<o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal>-- <o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>Stathis Papaioannou<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>See there, now we are even more thankful that we have a heavily-armed nation which is the model of democracy. Thanks for pointing that out Stathis.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Oh I love the constitution. May it live forever.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike<o:p></o:p></p></div></div></body></html>