Citizens need guns so they can protect themselves from gov't

Dear editor:

Second Amendment advocates are accused by elected officials of spreading "hysteria" over talk of gun control. Perhaps 56 million people disarmed and killed by governments in the 20th Century is too dated a reference to cause elected officials to lend an ear to rational concerns. Let's bring it home.

The year was 2005. Indiscriminate gun confiscation took place in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Swarms of "authorities," including regular army troops, went door-to-door disarming law-abiding citizens, leaving them vulnerable to roving predators that raped and looted; some were police.

The template has been stamped. Connect the dots "leaders." Open your eyes to history and the transformation before us. It is not hysteria you see; it is vigilance. "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." -- Barry Goldwater

Under the banner, Public Safety, the sheepeople are to trust the government that brought us Ruby Ridge, WACO, Katrina gun confiscations, and Fast and Furious. Really? Couple this pattern of abuse with the foreshadowing of the 2009 DHS report on who it considers "Right-Wing Extremists" and the more recent revelation of Obama's apparent litmus test for top military officers: "Would you fire on Americans?"

Your dismissive tone illuminates your ignorance and betrays your oath.

-- Doug Traubel