The political winds change over time. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. I don't view our natural rights, generally, or our Bill of Rights, specifically, as an a la carte menu, from which one may pick and choose. Yet, people on all parts of the political spectrum often seem to concern themselves only with certain of these rights, which they champion vigorously, while ignoring or even being hostile to others, and thus undermining the whole.

Interestingly, when expressed in terms of their practical application to specific cases, political researchers have found that it would be difficult or impossible to obtain majority support from Americans for ANY of the first 10 amendments. Most everybody supports "free speech," for example, but far fewer support the actual 1st Amendment right of Nazi's to march through largely Jewish neighborhoods in Skokie, Il.

What this means in preparedness terms, to me, is that, although we've had a pretty successful 200 year experiment with participatory, representative democracy, support for it's basic underpinnings is somewhat shallow. There is always some possibility of things going haywire rather suddenly.

I often think of the citizens of Sarajevo, in the former Yugoslavia. They had managed to live in peace with their neighbors, in relative prosperity and stability, for many years, seemingly having set aside old divisions and tensions, and their futures must have seemed bright, indeed, in 1984, when they hosted the Winter Olympics. Contrast that with what happened to them a just few short years later, beginning in 1992, when they fell under the longest siege in modern history. Things change; be vigilant, and stay prepared.

More specifically, I do agree that any changes to current federal laws are likely to impact ammunition and private transactions in firearms, ammunition and reloading supplies. I also think that the current USSC may take a more hands-off view towards potential state regulation than they would to federal regulation.

Jeff