The true intentions of the 2nd

[TomH]

Listening to the testimony in RI tonight, I took out my copy of the Federalist Papers. It never ceases to amaze me how intelligent the founders really were. In fact, they were able to predict what has happened up until today:

That the people and the States should, for a sufficient period of time, elect an uninterupted succession of men ready to betray both; that the traitors should, throughout this period, uniformly and systematically pursue some fixed plan for the extension of the military establishment; that the governments and the people of the States should silently and patiently behold the gathering storm, and continue to supply the materials, until it should be prepared to burst on their own heads, must appear to every one more like the incoherent dreams of a delirious jealousy, or the misjudged exaggerations of a counterfeit zeal, than like the sober apprehensions of genuine patriotism. Extravagant as the supposition is, let it however be made. Let a regular army, fully equal to the resources of the country, be formed; and let it be entirely at the devotion of the federal government; still it would not be going too far to say, that the State governments, with the people on their side, would be able to repel the danger.

Of course the environment today has changed. Now both the federal and state governments are an equal threat to our rights. There are no real state militias anymore. And some states have just outlawed the people from having the same arms as the regular army (well you could argue that happened with the machine gun ban years ago). I haven't heard a single person argue for keeping arms to repel a tyrannical government. Has the original intent been forgotten? Do most gun owners believe the most important reason to keep firearms is for petty criminals and hitting paper? Do they believe being good "law abiding citizens" and registering, licensing, etc keeps in line with what the founders intended? I admittedly haven't listened to 100% of the testimony, but the trend definitely points to this.