Kendal, I know that you're honestly inspired in your beliefs, and I applaud your desire to make the world a "Weapomless" and therefore more peaceful place. But Hard realities simply do not make this a realistic goal. For one thing, The thing that criminals do best is "Break the Law" They will be armed, even if no one else is. Especially if no one else is.
The constitution was not written for "Legal Professionsals" It was writtem in plain English so that everyone could understand what it says. You must, however, understand what the terms stated in our Constitution meant, AT THE TIME THAT IT WAS WRITTEN. For instance, Militia, is a plural word (Latin)that includes every able bodied person between the ages of 16 nand 60, capable of bearing and using weapons.
"Well Ordered" Meant , "Well Trained". The people who wrote the Constitution didn't give a rats ass about deer hunting, The words "Sporting weaponry" does not appear anywhere in the entire document. They meant "Arms", Military hardware, Why? So as to maintain our Liberties against all opressors, even our own Government, which I hardly believe will be necessary anytime in the near future.
These "Arms" and a well ordered Militia werent intended to protect our households from robbery. They're actually useless for that purppose, though occasionally, an armed citizen does deter a criminal act, but these cases are very few and far between.
Kendal, I hope you know that I would never try to deceive you, what I've stated above is cold hard fact.
Here's another: Historians date the beginning of the "Dark Ages", when civilazation practically ceased to exist, from the "Nika Rebellion". Two Christian factions, disagreeing on whether or not Jesus had brothers and sisters,.took up arms and began slaughtering eachother. Most were well trained ex military. For some reason or other, they forgot their differences and joined forces, They gathered in the "Hippodrome" in Constantinople at a time when all of Rome's Legions were out fighting Goths or Visigoths or something. The Emperor bel;ieved that all was lost (Justinian the Great) and fled the palace. The Great "Belisarius" , 200 "Comitatti" (the household guard) and 250 barbarian mercenaries, with every expectation that they were sacrificing their lives to give the Emperor and his household time to get safely away, entered the Hippodrome from opposite gates, locked the gates behind them and proceeded to do battle. They first expended their stock of arrows and then charged into the mob. The rebellious rabble panicked, and turned on eachother, leaving Bellisarious , the Comitatti and the barbarian mercenaries staring at eachother over the bodies of about 10,000 rebels.

And then, Capt Kendall, The "not so great Justinian" ORDERED THAT THE ROMAN POPULATION BE DISARMED, WHICH LEFT THEM AT THE MERCY OF THE BARBARIAN HORDES WHO, WITHOUT DELAY, FELL ON THE DEFENSELESS ROMANS, DESTROYED THEIR CIVILAIZATION AND PLUNGED THE WORLD INTO DARKNESS. Which is exactly what will happen to us if we are disarmed./

Kendall, good friend (I hope) don't take my word for this, go to the L:ibrary and look up the "Nikka (or Nika) Rebellion" and what happened in it's aftermath.

I hope we can meet sometime in the future, you strike me as being a person I'd like to strike up a friendship with If your anywhere around Windsor Locks, Connecticut this Sunday, (Just south of Springfield, Mass.) I'm performing at the "Hartland Hollow Bluegrass Festival". at Berg Field, East Hartland, Conn I'll be doing some "old Time" banjo stuff, ( Dave Macon-Grandpa Jones stuff) but, mostly, and with the blessings of the promoter, introducing Maritime Folk Music to a hardcore bluegrass audience. I did the "Prospect Mountain Bluegrass Festival;" (same production Co.) a couple of weeks ago. It was a three day afair, and I did just that. They loved the Maritime stuff./ I jammed with a bluegrass group named, "Shady Creek" after Saturday evenings concert, until the wee hours of Sunday Morning. They were in the audience during my Sunday Afternoon stint, and they were requesting things like Farewell To Tarwaithe and Can't You Dance the Polka. If you think you can make it, drop me a PM and I'll give you detailed instructions on how to get there./ There'll be an open stage after the regular performance when Bill Flagg, Roger Sprung, My Wife Donna and I will be jamming with whoever wants to join in.

Failing that, maybe we can get together and sit on HMS Rose some evening and swap songs until they throw us off.