At 12:54 PM 6/9/99 +0200, den Otter wrote:
>
>Tough restrictions on guns is one thing, but the real problem is IMO
>the general anti-personal empowerment attitude which is the driving
>force behind gun bans. The same people who deny citizens the
>right to defend themselves with lethal force, are also very likely to
>deny them other rights too (like the right to carry non-lethal weapons
>like mace or stun guns, or even worse, the very right to defend
>yourself at all when attacked by a criminal -- this is already quite
>common where I live). They tend to see civilians as incompetent
>fools who should be treated like little children, which means that
>politicians will have (even) less respect for the public's opinion.
>Is it a cooncidence that the Swiss, who own guns freely, also
>have a general referendum (a real one, where the people's
>decision counts), which is about as democratic as one can
>get, while here in Holland for example most politicians are
>openly repulsed by the very idea of a referendum (and the
>sheeple agree, unbelievable!).
>