-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- To answer the question, "Why do we need guns?" is a long answer, but a COMPLETE ONE, and one I've taken the time to assemble for you, so please read it all. I give you: THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: In Congress, July 4, 1776, THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA . . . That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. Do others understand this? Yes... "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country; corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people, until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic is destroyed...a great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men...we have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the civilized world - no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of small groups of dominent men." . Abraham Lincoln, shortly before he was assassinated and... "... By calling attention to a well-regulated militia for the security of the Nation, and the right of each citizen to keep and bear arms, our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy. Although it is extremely unlikely that the fear of governmental tyranny, which gave rise to the 2nd amendment, will ever be a major danger to our Nation, the amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic military-civilian relationship, in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country. For that reason I believe the 2nd Amendment will always be important." (Ref: AR 12-73 p.14) . John F. Kennedy Thus: THE BILL OF RIGHTS - Amendment II - A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. But is that what the 2nd Amendment is REALLY about? "If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no recourse left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense..." Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers, No. 28 (keep this in mind please...) "And what country can preserve it's liberties, if it's rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms ... The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tryants." Thomas Jefferson "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined." . Patrick Henry "Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence...From the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurrences, and tendencies prove that to ensure peace, security, and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable...The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere re- strains evil interference--they deserve a place of honor with all that's good." George Washington "And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the right of resistance? Let them take arms...The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." Thomas Jefferson But do we have anything to worry about like this today? YES! "We are grateful to the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of descretion for almost forty years." . "It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national autodeter- mination practiced in past centuries." David Rockefeller at a Bilderbergers meeting, June 1991 in Baden Baden, Germany. Wow! Is this really a threat? YES! - - From The Emergency Powers Act, A special report by Dr. Eugene Shroder: =================== We are living in a DICTATORSHIP -- the Constitution was suspended over 60 years ago. If you don't believe it, read this report. This report is not based on opinion, but the fact of written law. The Report itself starts at about line # 370 of this file. "...without the knowledge contained in this report, how long to you think the blindness of the American people to this situation would have continued, and with it, the abolishment of the Constitution?" WAR AND EMERGENCY POWERS A SPECIAL REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA The cause and effect of the doctrine of emergency is the subject of this report. In 1973, in Senate Report 93-549 (Exhibit 10), the first sentence reads: "Since March the 9th, 1933, the United States has been in a state of declared national emergency." Let's go back to Exhibit 9 just before this. What did it say? It says that if a national emergency is declared, there is no Constitution. Now, let us return to Exhibit 10. Since March the 9th of 1933, the United States has been, in fact, in a state of declared national emergency. Referring to the middle of this Exhibit [10]: "This vast range of powers, taken together, confer enough authority to rule the country without reference to normal constitutional processes. Under the powers delegated by these statutes, the President may: seize property; organize and control the means of production; seize commodities; assign military forces abroad; institute martial law; seize and control all transportation and communication; regulate the operation of private enterprise; restrict travel; and, in a plethora of particular ways, control the lives of all American citizens." and this situation has continued uninterrupted since March the 9th of 1933. .... Now, this is well known. This is not a concept that was not known to rulers for many, many years. The concepts of constitutional dictatorship went clear back to the Roman Republic. And there, it was determined that, in times of dire emergencies, yes, the constitution and the rights of the people could be suspended, temporarily, until the crisis, whatever its nature, could be resolved. But once it was done, the Constitution was to be returned to its peacetime position of authority. In France, the situation under which the Constitution could be suspended is called the State of Siege. In Great Britain, it's called the Defense of the Realm Acts. In Germany, in which Hitler became dictator, it was simply called Article 48. In the United States, it's called the War Powers. If that was, in fact, the case, and we are under a war emergency in this country, then there should be evidence of that war emergency in the current law that exists today. That means that we should be able to go to the federal code known as the USC or the United Stated Code, and find that statute, that law, in existence. And if we went to the library today and picked up a copy of 12 USC and went to section 95 (b) (Exhibit 15), we will find a law which states: "The actions, regulations, rules, licenses, orders and proclamations heretofore or hereafter taken, promulgated, made, or issued by the President of the United States or the Secretary of the Treasury since March the 4th, 1933, pursuant to the authority conferred by Subsection (b) of Section 5 of the Act of October 6th, 1917, as amended [12 USCS Sec. 95a], are hereby approved and confirmed. (Mar, 9, 1933, c.1, Title I, Sec. 1, 48 Stat 1.)" [Congress just made the President a dictator. The word "hereafter" is pivotal. --hm ] Now, what does this mean? It means that everything that the President or the Secretary of the Treasury has done since March the 4th of 1933, or anything that the President or the Secretary of the Treasury is hereafter going to do, is automatically approved and confirmed. Powers Act. Let's see if he got it. On March the 5th, President Roosevelt asked for a special and extraordinary session of Congress in Proclamation 2038. He called for the special session of Congress to meet on March the 9th at noon. And at that Congress, he presented a bill, an Act, to provide for relief in the existing national emergency in banking and other purposes. ... In the Act of March 9, 1933 (Exhibit 17), it further states in Title 1, Section 1: "The actions, regulations, rules, licenses, orders and proclamations heretofore or hereafter taken, promulgated, made, or issued by the President of the United States or the Secretary of the Treasury since March the 4th, 1933, pursuant to the authority conferred by Subsection (b) of Section 5 of the Act of October 6th, 1917, as amended, are hereby approved and confirmed." Where have we read those words before? This is the exact same wording as is found (Exhibit 15) today in Title 12, USC 95 (b). The language in Title 12, USC 95 (b) is exactly the same as that found in the act of March 9, 1933, Chapter 1, Title 1, Section 48, Statute 1. The Act of March 9, 1933, is still in full force and effect today. We are still under the Rule of Necessity. We are still in a declared state of national emergency, a state of emergency which has existed, uninterrupted, since 1933, /I/ for over sixty years. /i/ ============================= {This was confirmed on KFYI, 910 AM Phoenix, the Bob Mohan Show on 12/8/94, when the author of the above book which I am quoting from was on the show and Senator John McCain called in and confirmed this. In fact, his words were, "I've been listening, and he's very well informed." When he was asked by show host whether we are operating under an emergency edict since 1933, Senator McCain said, "I think he's correct..." and then used some examples to demonstate it. A copy of this show can be obtained from me. Just send me a blank tape and SASE and I"ll copy it and get it off to you. It's not the best of copies, but it's good enough to hear. Senator McCain also said that Congress COULD put an effective STOP to this, but does NOT, and he could not say way they do not!} If you would like, you can FREQ WEP.ZIP from my bbs or call and d/l it for the complete text. You can also buy the book from me, Constitution Fact or Fiction by Dr. Eugene Schroder for $15. Just send netmail or call my bbs. If you cannot afford it, or don't want to "risk" sending money to someone you don't know, you can go to your library and ask them to order it for you. The ISBN is 1-885534-06-X, just give the library that number and ask them to order it. Everything I've said above is documented in the book and I can provide you w/complete copies of all documents. There are over 150 pages of documents, so that'll cost you a little. :) So I have shown you WHY we need it (to protect us from a tyrannical and abusive government), that is was INTENDED for this purpose, and that we ARE UNDER such a tyrannical government. eric Without Prejudice, all rights reserved, 1995 Eric Gray - The Desert Reef BBS - c/o 3705 N. Runway, Tucson, Arizona, postal zone 85705. Electronic "e-text" Non-profit Distribution permitted. Any other use requires written permission from the author. ALL uses require forwarding of publication to the author to above address or via email to ericg@flash.net or Fido 1:300/507. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Envoke your privacy rights NOW or lose them forever! iQEVAwUBMoiLJe63DSRNsmDVAQGaawf+OHz5x1ixFkrKku9AvvSHLgDM7/GBCjKZ P2OZ3OuCppqY4DAImMqcK2UVbY/6LzDwMqC2hnDWPwTV3UZK3n78ToNXcnKnAV2w 9k/tJ4kf/BCc6bAE8xVO/B3o5Ob7G/JuJ+N3I6SSM1e5+/CtTdPpt5vF+iCDBog5 l2tBlT52TxGmUYUYoAdomdQ3YxYv8jjDxdpB4elRnofhQtSGXNqn1GZbKlGvGiWC lriQGS3baVEbyuzWLKB/AkexsPqsPZ6jAgjxAj2u/cnrXFfWPGlG539/N9ylVatm HLjDBhYThIGOWX0ArBul6J8eFrUnZ2HNKRRUtNz63uZPYE+ONauPnQ== =YudI -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----