Re: #2721 ASPERGER'S

In article <xf_eh.4492$Ga1...@newssvr12.news.prodigy.net>, Iconoclast wrote:
> The 2nd amendment in the US was originally intended so that we would be
> ready to form a guerrilla militia in case of invasion.
>
       Strange, I thought it was in the context of rebellion against your 
lawful superiors (NB: "lawful", not "moral") and a significant civil war 
between those who were Loyalist and those who were Rebel. (Sorry, had you 
forgotten about the Loyalists? or the civil war?) And the amendment in 
question puts the formation of "a well-regulated militia" as being a 
necessary prerequisite to the holding of arms by "the people". <SIGH>

> I've heard there is a Scandinavian country, I don't remember which
> one but I believe it may be Sweden, where it's law that every household
> must have at least one gun. I think that's a good policy. If someone tries
> to invade Sweden they're gonna have one hell of a fight on their hands.
>
       It's Switzerland, I think you'll find. Which is not a Scandanavian 
country. In fact, many people are surprised to find how anomalous a 
country Switzerland is, compared to the rest of Europe. (Certainly my 
mother was surprised when visiting there in the 1950s to discover that women 
didn't have the vote.)
       
       Snipping from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_women%27s_suffrage
> # 1921
>     * Lithuania 
>     * Romania (with restrictions)
>     * Sweden 
[SNIP]
> # 1940
>     * Quebec becomes final Canadian province to give female suffrage
[SNIP]
> # 1948
>     * United Nations The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
> adopted by the UN includes Article 21: The will of the people shall 
> be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be 
> expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal 
> and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent 
> free voting procedures.
>     * Belgium
>     * Israel (same year of independence)
>     * Iraq
>     * Italy
>     * South Korea
>     * Niger
>     * Surinam
[SNIP]
> # 1952
>     * United Nations enacts Covenant on Political Rights of Women
>     * Bolivia
>     * Greece
>     * Lebanon
[SNIP]
> # 1970
>     * Yemen
> # 1971
>     * Switzerland (on the federal level; introduced on the 
> Cantonal (state) level from 1958-1990)
[SNIP]
> # 1984
>     * Liechtenstein
> # 1986
>     * Central African Republic
> # 1990
>     * Samoa
>     * Switzerland (the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden 
> is forced by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland to accept 
> women's suffrage)
> # 1994
>     * Kazakhstan
>     * South Africa: franchise extended to black men and women
>
       Of course, Switzerland and Sweden came to separate and distinct
ways of avoiding warfare when Hitler was on the go. Of the two, I notice 
that the Swedish solution has had fewer long-term ramifications.
       I also notice that the popular presence of hunting weaponry 
throughout Central Europe, and the huge numbers of arms left over from 
World War 1 were really effective too. (I don't know about your country, 
but it's a rare month that goes by without the local fishermen bringing 
in a load of WW1/ WW2 munitions to the harbour ; caches of grenades, 
phosphorus bombs and dynamite from the "Home Guard" are a monthly occurrence 
for builders in my home town, resulting in a "blues and twos" visit from 
the bomb squad.) 
       
       Anyway, no point in wasting electrons on this subject. You'll 
obviously remain happy to have one of the highest murder rates in the 
world in your home country, and you're unlikely to change your opinion 
until you have a personal tragedy. I pity your friends, family and countrymen.

-- 
 Aidan in Scotland
 Written at Sun, 10 Dec 2006 23:05 GMT, but posted later.

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