Thom Hartman: The 2nd Amendment was ratified to help preserve slavery.

[branford]

67. You are free to assume the worst motives from those with whom you disagree on this issue,

including many other liberals who are otherwise your allies on most political, social and cultural matters, but be prepared for the inevitable further expansion of gun rights that has occurred of the last few decades, even without the recent Supreme Court decisions. I fear that divisions among Democrats on this issue will cost us elections. Al Gore's losing his home state of Tennessee should be an abject lesson in the damage this issue can cause the party.

I doubt we will ever find common ground on this issue. Nevertheless, I respect those who peacefully advocate their ideals, and wish you luck. In light of the sheer divisiveness of the issue, and how it often ignores the simple dichotomy of liberal vs. conservative, you will need all the luck you can get.

Lastly, as to that is the progressive argument in favor of gun rights, the answer is simple - the right to life. The right of self-defense, the ability to protect yourself and your loved ones from those who would do them harm with the best tool available for that purpose. You obviously would disagree, and cite numerous, questionable studies of how our street run red with blood because racist gun owners don't care about children. However, all this could change tomorrow. You simply need to find sufficient support among Americans to both amend the Constitution AND then pass federal legislation to ban or severely restrict firearms (and collect the tens of millions already in circulation). Easy.