we should boycott Starbucks and drink a coffee at Toby Keith's new restaurant chain

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The second amendment to the US Constitution reads:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Despite all the legalistic wrangling and NRA propaganda, questions remain. How can a militia be well regulated if there is no "roll call," no list of members? What well regulated militia does not know which weapons are in who's hands? When has the well regulated militia made an acceptable appearance in US history? It wasn't Shay's Rebellion. Was it the KKK riots in this post-Civil War era? The Birmingham church bombings? Post-Katrina shootings in New Orleans? Where will the next militia action be? Will it be similar to the Crimea incursions? Will it be in Texas or Arizona's Maricopa County? Will the "well regulated" aspects be provided by county sheriffs?
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So the CEO of Starbucks "asks" patrons to leave their guns at home and gets pandering-pundit-patter about what a brave man he is. His workers are directed by company policy to serve the gun crowd politely. Screw him. Toby Keith, the United States Uber Alles Nashville-type country star bans guns in his restaurants, totally playing against type. God Bless him. Here's a link to the story.

My parents, conservative Reagan-loving Southern Baptists, would have called Starbucks "a rough place" and warned against going there because, in their world, decent eating and drinking establishments don't have guns or threatening feelings in the air.

This, to me, provides a parable, but parables must have endings that teach a lesson. And must not this parable end with the "good son" (prissy Starbucks) getting the short end of the stick while the "prodigal son" (Toby Keith) wins all the kudos?

Really, people. In every city I see a Starbucks I also see local coffee bars. You don't have to give up your lattes to take a stand! BOYCOTT STARBUCKS, specifically over the issue of guns. Send the message. Let Starbucks become havens for the type of person who wants more guns in our society, people who will sacrifice children for a poorly-conceived conception of the 1st Amendment's place in our Constitution.

Pass it on.

It's time for you to research the "Oath Keepers" - know the status of your county

In the United States an organization called the Southern Poverty Law Center has done a remarkable job for years in tracking and exposing Neo-Nazis, Neo-Confederates, the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups. They have been keeping track, also, of a newer organization - the Oath Keepers. For an introduction to this militarist group read this Salon.com article. If this information does not send chills down your spine then, I suppose you are a prime candidate to donate some money to them. If you are a military veteran or currently in the military, a police officer at any level (active or retired), or a firefighter, the Oath Keepers wants you!
What do they want you to do? First, sign their pledge. See it here. The bedrock of the purpose of this oath is that you, as a county sheriff or other law enforcement officer will organize to fight any forces of the United States government or its people who seek to impose ANY restrictions AT ALL on the right to own guns. NO restrictions of any kind, be it number or type or registration of fire arms are considered by this group to be Constitutional.  By the way, they also oppose Obamacare.
Now the Oath Keepers are organizing Special "Civilization Preservation" Teams. These teams will consist of:

Two communications experts.

Two Medics.

Two Combat Engineers (who can do more than demolitions. They can also build bridges, dig wells, install water-treatment, irrigation systems, etc. ).

Two weapons experts.

An Operations NCO.

An Assistant Operations NCO who also does intelligence.

A commanding officer, and his assistant commanding officer.

 See this and MUCH more at this Oath Keepers site. They clearly explain the nature of their dream and it is nothing less than a recipe for Civil War.

Here is part of the Oath Keeper vision for "sub-teams"

Neighborhood Watch Team. To help form neighborhood watches throughout the local community and liaison with them.

Local Government Team. To get to know the local town council, county government, judges, county attorney, etc, and observe each town and county government meeting. This is the team that will draft and introduce militia bills, posse bills, and nullification bills, among other items to support liberty at the local level, and will help liaison with them all during emergencies.

Intelligence Team.   To gather, analyze, and disseminate intelligence on who is doing what, where, when, and why.

See the entire idea laid out at this Oath Keepers website from which I copied the above material. In short, the Oath Keepers are preparing for a showdown, a showdown against fellow citizens and against the government of the United States. They are quite particular in desiring highly trained special ops veterans. The clear implication is that they are preparing to fight a Civil War within the United States and that they are demonizing ANYONE, whether a duly-elected official or a common citizen who disagrees with them and that they believe it their patriotic duty to threaten ANYONE who disagrees with them. From what I know of history it sounds much like the Nazi Brownshirts on steroids.

I read a couple of editorials recently in the Guardian by Henry Porter that I much enjoyed. The first one was pointing out that the U.S. has lost more citizens to gun violence within our borders than in ALL our wars combined. Possibly with tongue in cheek he asked if perhaps the world community should intervene in this humanitarian crisis or at least if travel warnings should be issued. The other editorial basically said, oh sure the Tea Party Republicans are making a mess of things financially right now, but don't worry, the good old U.S. will come to its senses.

I don't think so. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Lincoln said that.

I just looked up a list of counties within the United States whose sheriffs have signed the Oath Keepers pledge. The list is current as of January, 2013. Here it is. If you or your family are considering a vacation in the U.S. you might like to know the mindset of the place you are going to. Want to go to Disney World? Be informed that ALL county sheriffs in Florida are oath keepers. 30 of 33 counties in New Mexico are patrolled by oath Keepers. Does this mean that you are in danger in any of the 225 U.S. counties whose chief law enforcement officer is an Oath Keeper? Well, probably not. I mean unless you happen to be in the U.S. on the day our new Civil War breaks out. Or if you are not lilly-white. Or if you have a strong un-American accent. Or if you just happen to be in the way of one of the 289 people who are shot on a daily average in the U.S. 

If you investigate this phenomenon you will find all kinds of things the Oath Keepers are concerned with besides gun ownership, but it is clear that the ENTIRE structure of this group is based on the Second Amendment and that the ONLY interpretation of the second amendment they accept is unlimited gun ownership, unlimited type of gun, unlimited clip capacity.

If there were ANY other amendment in the Bill of Rights that Oath Keepers were truly concerned with it wouldn't be so scary. How about free speech? 

A portent I am watching for:  Openly displayed guns at or near voting sites on election day.
ps
As part of the post 9/11 "Homeland Security" laws, counties across the United States received money for military-style weapons. As a teacher, I watched a demonstration of the Apache County Sheriff's gear and expertise. Watch out Al Qaeda, they have helicopters, armored tank-like vehicles, a SWAT team ... Man, if I was a bank robber THAT would have been the day -)

the Fourth Amendment is gone

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
The Supreme Court agreed with the NSA that American citizens have no Fourth Amendment rights in this post-9/11 world. The War on Drugs eliminated the assumption that we the people have a right to be secure in our persons or houses. Now FISA takes care of the rest. 
If all the gun rights crowd gave a s*** about their Constitutional rights they would be "up in arms" -) over this. And then we would have an end to warrantless wiretapping and ...
Because, you see, the gun lobby is so powerful Congress trembles in its collective boots to bend over backwards for them. And the Supreme Court? It's actually a fully owned subsidiary of the NRA. So this is my secret political tactic - get the NRA to back your cause/bill/program. Gosh, fellers, I'll trade you the second for my first and fourth!

about the Second Amendment

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."
Ok, so maybe the first step in all the USA's political debates should be: words matter. So our common heritage of written words is still here, we just ignore it. In high school I was made to understand the meaning of a dependent introductory clause. Is it too much to expect that the first words of the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, almost one-half of the entire amendment, be admitted to exist? And that they intentionally express the will of the Founding Fathers? 

"about the Second Amendment"

If Americans were 1/10th as "fired up" about the abuses of out other nine rights in the Bill of Rights we would be so much better off. People who want common sense applied to this issue must realize that, as it is in the Constitution, it is foolish to call for a ban on handguns (protection) or rifles and shotguns (protection and hunting). The Constitution has been so twisted (interpreted) that property can be confiscated from it's legal owners because a crime was committed with or on the property. For example, a car in Phoenix was confiscated because the husband was busted having sex with a prostitute in it. The man's wife and children were left without a car! Let's interpret the second amendment beginning with the introductory clause, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state..." The NRA, the media, and our politicians ignore this. The Constitution obviously ties "well-regulated" and "Militia" into the amendment. It didn't say, you have the right to be an "Army of one." 
Modernization of interpreting the Constitution has been vital to our nation's progress. It is time to modernize, grow up, and apply some common sense to the second amendment. High-capacity clips, AK 47s, etc. make no sense outside the realm of the military.