Yes, they did. You are correct. The Law did know about it, and when the belligerent got out of hand, threats and all...they "took steps."
The O.K. Corral.
I have no problem with this. It worked for us once....
The whole point is that no one will learn from the past.
Freedom control, or victim disarmament both the same- will never work.
Two hundred year old laws stating clearly in the afirmitive haven't worked and apparently never will.
Free men in a truly free country spent more than 25 years perfecting a Constitution to preserve freedom and did so, adding ten ammendments to make it nearly perfect.
In less than fourty years , the enemy has made the whole thing
unsound and due to revision under sworn enimies of the same document.
Between ruth buzzi ginsberg and the u.n. we need to step up and see that our kids can say the terms "Under God"
Without the threats we face today or worse.
In ten years it may be the heavily armed ACLU Troops deflagging the capitals in your state.