Which, regardless of one's political view, is why the Tea Party members are so vilified in Washington - by both parties. This is not a post in support of the movement, but an observation. This is the first time in quite a while where citizens rose up in large groups and addressed their grievances with the government. Arguments have been made that big money was involved, but unlike other cases where money was used to buy protesters, for the large part those who came arrived of their own accord and with personally-driven reasons and were not lured by a free bus ride. Their actions - again whether those here agree with them or not, this is not a political issue beyond the basics of citizens in a republican government - willfully demonstrating their will, brought the ire of the government and many smears with it. Many of those members chose to open carry at events. Whether wise or unwise, they were peaceable and did not threaten anyone (as opposed to at the polls in some precincts of the previous election).
Lets NOT debate whether Tea Party ideas are right or wrong. The same observation could be an uprising of Blacks refusing to sit at the back of the bus, or even theoretically Japanese Americans refusing to move to an internment camp. One significant element of the Tea Party is its explicit non-violent civility as compared with the words leveled against it. I will confess I have not personally gotten involved with it, myself, so my observations have been from the outside.
I have debated on sharing my own personal experience with more local government (not the ATF, which has been fine with my dealings thus far). I am still not ready, and though I have alluded to events somewhat cryptically, the result is that through violating no laws, nor the bad treatment of wife or kids (I'm a deacon at my church, a member of the Gideons, an Eagle Scout, a Ronin Scout leader, with the worst traffic offense on my file being running a red light), now I no longer own my WWI or WWII example collection and from a collection that at its height involved some 60 Mosin rifles and carbines is now to less than ten, the best Finnish examples. My Revoluationary War through Mexican War sword collection is dark in a closet now.
At this point, trust in the government must be limited. Trust in the law must be limited. Expectations of protections in the Bill of Rights must be limited. Theory is always trumped by reality, and reality does not have to ever play by rules.