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but the armed citizenry is part of the checks and balance, and the ultimate safeguard.
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Actually, I have debated this before but I believe an armed citizenry today does virtually nothing to insure our liberty from political tyranny.
I often use the Katrina gun grab as an example. A rogue mayor uses his police force and other police officers from other cities to illegally disarm citizens after the disaster.
An armed citizenry did not stop the gun grab but rather a court injunction initiated through legal means. The government acted in a tyrannical fashion and no citizen(s) rose up in armed defiance. Also, the fact that many citizens were armed in New Orleans did not deter Mayor Nagin from issuing the order one bit.
I think the idea that an armed citizenry protects us from tyrannical government is a myth certainly today. In fact, I think some of the ideas espoused by some in the gun culture on that subject makes the rest of us look bad. The non-gun owning public won't buy it either I'm afraid.