To me a candidate’s stance on the Second Amendment is very important. No, it’s not because I’m a gun nut who loves guns more than children, I don’t even own a gun. Rather, it’s because the Second Amendment is fundamental to the ideas upon which this nation was founded however imperfectly or belatedly they were applied. The idea of limited government and individual liberty is taken so seriously that the ultimate deterrent against government tyranny is written explicitly into the nations founding documents as the Second Amendment. The idea of government regulation and permitting of firearms transforms that right into a privilege granted by government and renders the Second Amendment worthless, defanged by the same institution it was designed to keep in ultimate check. Hence my interest in a candidate’s stand on guns.