This recurring suggestion always offends my friends and family members who are serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. To say that private gun ownership is the only

This recurring suggestion always offends my friends and family members who are serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. To say that private gun ownership is the only thing preventing a gov't takeover is to imply that the military lacks discipline, judgement and sophistication. Fortunately, Americans don't need to rely on guns to restrain and exert pressure on their military or their government. As a nation we have chosen a different course, a democratic system of checks and balances that (while certainly flawed) is among the world's most effective.