Jim was talking about his anger at the sad state of freedom and society today. When he said "Something's got to be done about the Second Amendment situation," I said "You and I have got to talk." After the meeting, we did.

"I'm just sick of all the crime and violence," Jim said. "Why can't people just leave each other alone and treat each other with respect?

"Absolutely right," I agreed. "It's just ridiculous."

"You know what we need to do?" Jim said. "We need to get rid of the Second Amendment and take away all the guns. I've lost three friends who were killed by guns, and I don't care if people think it's their right or not, enough is enough. Nobody needs a gun."

Oops.

Did I mention that Jim is six-foot-six, 350 pounds and has no neck, but does have an anger management problem?

Now meet Wade.

Wade is my stepdaughter's friend and is about 26 years old. He's very polite and very kind to children and animals, a really likeable guy.

The subject of rights came up today while they were visiting.

"I'm kind of an activist for rights," I told him. (I didn't mention that I was a Bill of Rights activist, with a major in the Second Amendment.)

"Yeah, me too. It really gets to me when I see what the government's doing..."

"I agree," I said. "Things sometimes get pretty out of control. It wasn't meant to be this way."

"No, it wasn't ... Like, we're sending all this aid to China when there are people starving here. Why should we take care of people 500 miles away when so many people here need help?"

[500 miles?]

"And about guns," he went on. "They should take them away from everybody, even the police, like they do in other countries. No guns, no problem."

[I didn't ask where these gun-free paradises were. All the countries I had heard about that are doing away with citizens' guns usually end up giving submachine guns to their paramilitary national police.]

"People have a bad disagreement, we go at each other with our fists and that's the end of it, no more problem," Wade continued.

"No problem, unless he's bigger and stronger than you," I observed.

"That's OK, we get it settled and move on.

"All this," he said (meaning the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and every other sacred American document), was written for FARMERS, not for big... uh, big places like this..."

"Industrialized, urbanized countries?" I volunteered.

"Yeah, that's right!" he said, obviously pleased he had made his point. So they insist the Bill of Rights is outdated, or protects the rights of only the government, not the people, or "Bill of Rights? What's that?"

Wade and Jim want to exercise their right to be free from crime, and free from our guns.

Sorry, that's incorrect. You are the weakest link. G'bye. Did I mention that Wade is gay? And that he's five-foot-six and an anorexic-looking 120 pounds?

Wade, meet Jim. Jim hates gays, by the way. I doubt that getting on his bad side would be "no problem."

Also by the way, Wade, did you ever wonder why the gay pride symbol is a pink triangle?

Well, about 60 years ago, there was this man named Adolf, who decreed that all undesirables would wear their own special recognition badge.

Jews got a yellow Star of David, homosexuals got the pink triangle, and people who kept their guns got lined up single file and shot dead. They killed the gun owners first so that when they decided to put to death all the Jews and gays there would be "no problem." Now, Wade, and you too, Jim, repeat after me: "First they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist;

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist....

And then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up."

*Slogans of Big Brother and the totalitarian Party in George Orwell's "1984." If you haven't read it, you should.