http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/beauty-second-amendment-quotation

" We currently have *no* evidence that Thomas Jefferson said or wrote, "The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it" or any of its listed variations."

Stop spreading propaganda. Jefferson never said any such thing, and in fact was not in favor of the 2nd amendment. It only shows you up as someone who is intellectually inferior. You might want to spend some time on the Monticello site just to read through all of the quotations, so that you don't make the same error again.

It is actually a common misconception that many of the countries people view as violent have high gun ownership rates. The all of the war torn African countries people point to actually have gun ownership rates on the order of 1% that of the United States.

Not once has a totalitarian state allowed it's subjects the ownership of weapons. The state has been and will always be the 1%. It is very hard to control the 99% when they are armed as well as the 1%.

Ezra Grant – Just interested in countries where it is legal to bear arms. Does no good if bearing arms is criminalized. I.e. Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia, Mao's China, Kim's N. Korea, etc, etc.

Rodney Vizcarra I just read my response to Ben B. Rodriguez and didn't see the word "legally" mentioned. But to answer the other part of your question, see Egypt and Libya for the most recent two countries where citizens are now trying to get a say in their politics.

Ezra Grant Which countrieS are these that the citizens are legally armed and have no say in the political process?

Ezra Grant Voting is like praying, feels good but doesn't do anything. voting for a candidate leaves them with exactly 0 binding obligations. I'm going to guess you voted for Obama. Here are some of Obama's campaign promises. End the wars, close gitmo, stop federal raids on medical marijuana clinics. Now if voting did something we might expect these things to have happened. Instead the government has invaded at least two more countries, is still torturing people, and still raiding medical marijuana clinics. Surprise surprise we ended up with what is essentially a 3rd Bush term. Not to mention murdering American citizens without due process. Voting comes down to essentially two choices, Statist A or Statist B. Do I want the black guy that will invade other countries, torture and murder thousands of people, spy on citizens, criminalize consensual activities etc. or the old white guy. That's a great choice, I'm so glad the state granted me the privileged of legitimizing their existence every 4 years. See if you can find one example where the state lost an election.

On a more practical note, how much police brutality do you see at teaparty events where the protesters are armed, vs the occupy wall street movement where they are not?

Ben B. Rodríguez – No, carrying weapons is not synonymous with freedom and should never be used as a measuring stick of a free society. There are many countries today where the citizens are armed, but have no say in their political process. Many of these countries are now rising up and demanding true freedom…the freedom to vote. That is where the power of the people comes from. It is what shows the politicians that they're dealing with equals and not subjects.

Guns at a political rally shows that the person carrying is ignorant. Ignorant of their true power and with ignorance comes fear. And a gun in the hands of someone who's afraid is a dangerous thing.

Ezra Grant Since ancient times the carrying of weapons has been the symbol of a freeman. Guns really are the 900lb gorilla in the room when it comes to politics. It is very important to remember where political power comes from. All political power stems from the fact that if you don't do what the politicians say, armed men break into your house at night and kill you or throw you in a cage to be raped. The carrying of arms at political rallies reminds the politicians that they are dealing with equals and not subjects.

Spoken like a true NRA member with the usual talking point, "guns don't kill people, people kill people." But the question asked in the piece is still not answered. Why bring a gun to a political event? Especially with the history this country have with assassinations.