4 firefighters shot, 2 dead, after responding to blaze

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There was a fairly prominent Democrat who had a somewhat differing opinion>

"By calling attention to 'a well regulated militia', 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 fears of governmental tyranny which gave rise to the Second Amendment will ever be a major danger to our nation, the Amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic civilian-military relationships, in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country. For that reason, I believe the Second Amendment will always be important."

-Senator John F. Kennedy, April 1960

"Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom."

-John F. Kennedy

Everyone has an opinion. Retired Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote an article giving his opinion that the second amendment has nothing to do with private citizens rights to own guns.

This is not as black and white as people think. Remember the 9th circuit courts well researched decision in the Silviera vs Lockyer case was that the second amendment was only intended to protect the states right to form militias, and not the individual's right to have unrestricted access to firearms.

The Silviera vs Lockyer ruling was appealed to the Supreme Court, and overturned with a 5-4 vote, and the rest is history. If that ruling and appeal had happened 20 years earlier, history may have been different.