The deterrence of a 'well-armed populace' was certainly a factor in the thinking of the state; that is, before tanks, jet fighters, nuclear weapons, body armor, unmanned aerial vehicles , control of information to the masses, fiat finance and anything else the state has …. It's funny how the human brain works…in one sentence you say the NRA is a lobbying organization (connoting all the “evil” that the word lobbying entails)…then, you admit it's a Civil Rights organization.