Another response to yomama
If this and my other replies are construed as "not so nice", then I apologize, but it must be said.
I know we are not living under Saddam, or the Nazi regime, but again, that is thinking in absolute extremes. Sure, there are no police checkpoints on every street corner, but do you not understand that this is a "subtle" form of tyranny?
We aren't living that way yet, so why get the ball rolling?
I asked you to put yourself in that situation of someone being a "suspect" or falsely arrested under the sweeping jurisdiction of these types of legislation, and you have not responded. A simpler view put forth by myself and others is to just apply it to the anti gun agenda, and you have not responded.
Your belief is that the govt. should do whatever is necessary to prevent an attack on us. The patriotic belief is that no matter how many people may have to be put in danger, it is necessary and worthwhile to ensure that we remain the nation that is most free in the world.
Our men and women died so that our country could continue to protect and preserve, which is what we are trying to do here.
I'm so very glad that you brought this up yomama, but your belief system is what actually denigrates the service of these servicemen. And if you have served, then you are actually disgracing your own service and don't even know it. You are doing the same to mine as well, as I am a Iraq war veteran.
Because our boys did not die in foreign lands fighting fascism, communism, despotism and tyranny, promoting
democracy and
freedom to come back home or to see their descendants have to deal with REAL ID, warrantless surveillance and illegal seizures. Furthermore, it also detracts from all of the people who worked so hard to fight for civil rights, it detracts from all of the people who were involved in setting precedence for 4th Amendment rights, 5th Amendment rights, universal suffrage, and so on.
You are right though, govt. doing whatever is necessary to protect it's people does work. It's a rarity to hear China or North Korea suffer from a terrorist attack, I don't think it has ever even happened. The Chinese don't have to fear radical Islam, because their protector is far more fearsome. The Chinese govt. does apprehend a lot of "terrorists", "criminals", and "enemies of the state". Maybe they were, but maybe they were
not. Unlike here, you have no say in the matter, you will not get a fair trial, you will not be judged by your peers. And anyone who goes against the party in your defense will meet the same fate.
The Chinese govt. monitors the press, the TV, the newspapers, and even the internet, and obviously it is near impossible for a regular person to own any firearm. Citizens in North Korea are so afraid to say anything because there are govt. plants everywhere in their own communities, you could be a "political dissenter" at the drop of a dime. They also extremely limit and monitor the movements of its people. Would you be in favor of this, to protect us? Who then would be the real enemy?
Like I said to the other guy on the REAL ID thread, you have to stop thinking about yourself because you are not a terrorist, a criminal, and you pay your taxes. This is all about principle.