Sound theatrical?  Of course.  Did Charlton Heston mean what he said when he threatened to die before giving up his guns?  Would you want to 'call  his hand' on it?  I think not.

Mr. Heston's stand on gun control has galvanized the NRA and many non-members of that group who also own guns.  These words have hit the liberals like a tub of cold water in their faces, and they don't know how to react.  The determination to keep our firearms is alive and well in our people.  The incremental efforts to gradually take this right away from us has hit a brick wall.  The Brady bill is just about as far as we will go and even it  (Brady)  has not reduced handgun violence.  An incremental effort to have us register our long guns has become mired in the fury of those of us who realize that the final purpose of registration is confiscation of our guns.   All of them!!

The joys of hunting can be enumerated at length.  Briefly, if you haven't felt the crunch of frost-covered corn field stubble beneath your boots, if you haven't watched the excitement of a good bird dog doing everything possible to assist you, if you haven't heard the heart-stopping crowing of a cock pheasant as he explodes from his unseen shelter, you have missed a lot. 
If you haven't sat down solemnly with your son and grandson when the 12-year-old killed his first deer and shed a tear or two over the noble animal, you have missed one of life's greatest moments.  If you haven't watched a bear bait closely for hours, and suddenly noticed a large black bear appear magically from nowhere, no sound, no warning. you have been deprived. 

Mr. Al Gore has  backed off his previous threats and now says he wouldn't register our long guns.  How about the citizen who chooses to sleep with a fully-loaded handgun in the nightstand?  There is no denying that Mr. Gore believes these guns should be confiscated.  Think how pleased the professional burglar will be if Gore's wishes become reality.  No more guns to protect the home! 

This right to bear arms is the only guarantee that  keeps our government from becoming a monarchy or a dictatorship.  It was given to us over two hundred years ago to protect us from an obtrusive Big Brother type of government, and really required a tremendous amount of foresight from our founders to protect us. 

The point of this article, the crux of this matter, is that the first consideration when you enter the voting booth should be the right to bear arms.  If you disagree with Mr. Bush on abortion, on taxes, big government, education or any other topic, THAT DISAGREEMEMT MUST BE SECONDARY TO THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS.  This right is the right that gives us the opportunity to disagree on everything else.  If it were not for the Second Amendment, we would not be discussing anything.  Those of you who may be vegetarian, and violently opposed to hunting must recognize that the Second Amendment is the
only thing standing between us and Orwell's '1984'  No matter how you might feel about Mr.  Bush, he is not going to try to take your guns.  Can anyone say that about Mr. Gore?