I had to skim most of the posts since I last replied but I do have a couple points I'd like to make. One is that the close pairing of gun ownership rights with Republican ideals and anti-liberal sentiment is flawed in my opinion. I actually think it’s kind of funny how some people can say, “here is a gun (a tool), this is how to use it, I trust you’ll use it properly” but will say, “I will not show you a condom (a tool), I won’t show you how to use it, you will abuse it.”

Anyway, I believe that the 2nd Amendment benefits members of both/all parties, not because I expect to gain the upper hand on some unsuspecting home intruder, but because of its still relevant effects on the relationships between people and government and between social classes. Spanky has already driven home the importance of an armed population with relation to government, but it should also be stated that such fear-induced "respect" also exists in other social circumstances. For example, as uncapitalistic as this might sound, the right to bear arms probably increases the awareness of the need to keep the gap that exists between the "haves" and "have nots" in check (think riots). The same right also helps prevent a nation of "rebelds" from subjugating any group of people he considers to be "neanderthals."

That last sentence just leads me to my other point. I'm sure rebeld is far more balanced than he might lead on in this forum but like it or not, there is an issue of appearances. In that clip of Biden criticizing the pro-gun advocate for calling his gun his baby, can you really blame him for his response? Modern society values balance and proficiency in several areas of life. By simply calling his gun his baby, he showed that he valued his material possesion as much as parents value the lives of their children. This obviously goes against the popular notion of family values. There is nothing else to show anything else the man does that benefits society. There is nothing but the clip. He practically asked for the "mentally incompetent" evaluation that he received. (Note: that clip could have been staged but the point about appearances remains.)