up and in prison, or should we see him as a political hero? Maybe he is a true patriot who reveals what's going on in government." However, Paul voted against the Offshore Oil and Gas Worker Whistleblower Protection Act of 2010. Gun laws Paul has been a lead sponsor of legislation in Congress attempting to maintain individual Second Amendment rights. He has also fought for the right of pilots to be armed. In the first chapter of his book, Freedom Under Siege, Paul argued that the purpose of the Second Amendment is to place a check on government tyranny, not to merely grant hunting rights or allow self-defense. When asked whether individuals should be allowed to own machine guns, Paul responded, "Whether it's an automatic weapon or not is, I think, irrelevant." Paul also argues that weapons bans only keep them out of the hands of law-abiding citizens, not dangerous criminals. He sees school shootings, plane hijackings, and other such events as a result of prohibitions on self-defense. He supports the right of citizens to carry concealed weapons if they are legally owned. Jury related issues Paul believes that juries deserve the status of tribunals, and that jurors have the right to judge the law as well as the facts of the case. "The concept of protecting individual rights from the heavy hand of government through the common-law jury is as old as the Magna Carta. The Founding Fathers were keenly aware of this principle and incorporated it into our Constitution." He notes that this principle is also stated in Thomas Paine's Rights of Man, Supreme Court of the United States decisions by Chief Justice John Jay, and writings of Thomas Jefferson. Paul states that judges were not given the right to direct the trial by "instructing" the jury. Habeas corpus In the first Republican debate (2007) in California, Paul stated that he would never violate habeas corpus, through which detainees can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment. This is also a pledge in the American Freedom Agenda signed by Paul. Federal legislation and civil liberty PATRIOT Act Paul broke with his party by voting against the PATRIOT Act in 2001; he also voted against its 2005 enactment. He has spoken against federal use of what he defines as torture and what he sees as an abuse of executive authority during the Iraq War to override Constitutional rights. REAL ID Act