It's too bad your friend lost in his bid for the state senate...I know how you feel Jaque. A friend of mine lost his bid for the senate too, the republican machine is too strong right now. Old Maine proverb.."It's a long road that has no turns."
That second amendment is very interesting..especially considering that the first part is so unpopular that it is ignored, that thing that says "A well regulated militia..etc"
It was on the news the other day that we had the lowest murder count in Maine's history this year. Is that more due to the economy than to the gun ownership? Maine's equivelent to the second amendment says "The right of the people to keep and bare arms shall NEVER BE QUESTIONED! Now, that, to me, is pure lunacy. With that kind of "right" it's a wonder the state isn't full of "gunslingers".