Sorry Amos, honestly not trying to be cutesy. Simply meant to say that there are now man-portable (no offense women, but it is generally the guys who love the guns) weapons with more destructive force than ever dreamed of 200 years ago. I can't imagine that Jefferson truly intended for every American to own a bazooka. And, if he didn't, he would surely approve of some level of sensible gun control that did not necessarily lead to total confiscation of all guns.

And, you were right, I at least had not followed your blue cliky, so I just did. Two phrases caught my eye:

1) "...we are willing to put up with handgun murders [to preserve the right to unrestricted ownership of guns}..."
My question in response is, how many handgun murders? At some level, is it no longer a fair trade?

2)the author says that we need to own guns so that we are not led passively to our deaths (like Jews in Germany, or Russians in the Gulag, etc.), and then cites Todd Beamer as an example of American unwillingness to be led to slaughter. This is a total red herring -- the heroic Todd Beamer and his compatriots DID NOT HAVE GUNS! I know, I know, the NRA response to this is "aha! you're saying we should outlaw bare hands!"

Bottom line, while the essay was certainly though provoking, it does not sway my (open) mind.