(If you’d like a much simpler article where I discuss the problems we face with mass killings please click here. This article is to discuss the right to bear arms in full detail.)
Where do I start? Debating gun control is getting increasingly exhausting because anyone who is actually a part of the gun culture knows the answers already. What people don’t understand is gun owners are the closest community out there, and it all has to survive through grassroot communication. Recently the NRA has been treated like some sort of minority hate-group by mainstream media and Democratic candidates. It’s quite amazing how openly they oppose a group of 5 million people as if it’s the KKK. The NRA is very well recognized in the gun community. They run our courses, certify our instructors and are recognized by many businesses across the country. When Hillary Clinton suggested gun owners should create a less “extreme” alternative to the NRA she showed her ignorance of American firearm owners. We do not want an alternative, if anything we want something more extreme than the NRA and we have that too; it’s the GOA with 1.5 million members. However gun control activists have still managed to keep the country confused on typical firearm knowledge. So here I go again.
First off, there is no such thing as an Assault Weapon. There has never been a set definition, and proof of this is in Bill Clintons 1994 “Assault Weapons Ban.” This banned the sale of firearms with too many “tactical” accessories and “high capacity magazines.” Oddly enough, gun control activists are starting to claim semi-automatic fire (which has been around for over a century) makes a gun an Assault Weapon. Carrying on with confusing terms, the term “high capacity” has been abused as well. A standard magazine for many rifles is 30 rounds. Most modern pistols use a double stack magazine which are usually expected to hold at least 12 rounds. However the 1994 Assault Weapons ban considered a “high capacity magazine” to be over 10 rounds. Many liberals use this as a standard, some of which don’t even include pistols when talking about magazine capacity (even though pistols are used far more often by criminals). A true “high capacity magazine” is more like a drum or extended mag. Glock has an extended pistol mag that holds up to 33 rounds, and sometimes you can find drum mags holding 50-200 rounds for rifles. Either way, the magazine capacity doesn’t matter all too much in most situations and it’s very difficult to ban something like a magazine. America’s most popular rifle holds a standard 30 round magazine, which I highly doubt will be disappearing anytime soon. You can find empty mags laying around flea markets, garage sales, pawn shops and gun stores all across the country. Another popular rifle, the Rugar 10/22 has a 20 round “banana” mag that is also extremely popular. You cannot get something as simple as a box with a spring in it off the streets, especially when we’ve already sold millions of them. Banning magazines won’t stop criminals at all, and will only harass law-abiding gun owners. (Also “clips” are not magazines. A clip is literally a clip used to hold cartridges together such as with a M1 Garand. We usually don’t mind people making this mistake, but when you claim to be a “gun violence expert” you should at least know the name of the things you want to ban.)
Now that I got the terms out of the way, I can move on to what Democrats focus on most, emotions. Many people try to use emotions to drive policy when it comes to gun control. It’s a well used tactic by Democrats whenever they try to introduce a new bill. However, what stories do pro-gunners have to offer? Well how about Lumarah Mitchell, who used a Hi Point Carbine to defend her house from 3 thugs trying to force their way inside. If semi-automatic firearms were banned the thugs might have reached Mrs. Mitchell and her 2 children. Sadly, gun control is already taking its toll on women trying to defend themselves. Carol Bowen applied for a gun permit after filing a restraining order against her ex. While waiting for her permit her ex stabbed her to death. Democrats ignore these stories claiming gun control very rarely fails, and self defense is rare. Well after the Sandy Hook shooting Obama gave 10 million dollars to the CDC to research gun violence. This backfired when the research showed that guns are used defensively 500 thousand to 3 million times annually. Without guns, at the very least, 500,000 people would have been denied their right to defend themselves when they needed it most. Not just those individuals, but many more people have been saved by firearm ownership even if they do not own a firearm. An example being mass shootings stopped by concealed carry holders (which are rarely reported since they don’t fit the media’s agenda). Also burglaries in the United States usually occur when residents aren’t home, because criminals fear getting shot. In countries like England however, the exact opposite is true.
So, I’ve covered the terms and the emotions, but now for conservatives’ favorite part, the history. Many conservatives like history because it is a tried and true method. Conservatives are traditional, and therefore like researching how the past solved issues in order to fix modern problems. History is a record of experiments that help us know what failed without doing it ourselves. We saw gun control used in Nazi Germany and Communist Russia so that the people would not have a way to revolt. Tyrants would never want their people to have equal authority, therefore they would never give them a way to fight against the armed government. When the Royal Governor of Massachusetts sent Red Coats to break up town meetings, 3,000 armed Americans showed up in defense. In response the “Royal Governor” order his men to start seizing gunpowder from the people. Once again, tyrants always want a disarmed populace. At this point 20,000 militiamen had mobilized, and were willing to start the war there if they had to. Throughout the 20th century we saw a rise of government authority in the United States as well. Innocent people being shot by the national guard for peacefully protesting or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This spurred on the modern Militia Movement. Just a couple years ago a very similar situation happened when federal agents tried to confiscate a rancher’s cattle. In response dozens of militiamen showed up, and the government backed down.
At this point you might understand why we have the 2nd Amendment, but I’ll continue. Our founders were not just politicians, but very knowledgable people. They knew a lot about history and every amendment in our Bill of Rights is a reflection upon that. But first you have to look to what started this revolution. According the John Adams the “revolution” was not the war, but in “the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiment of their duties and obligations.” This revolution was the people wanting their God given rights for generations to come. God granted us the right to self-government, and with His blessing we created a republic where under law the people’s rights were placed above the government. For the first time in history government was being treated as an evil, but a necessary one which had to be heavily regulated. For a few examples Thomas Paine said, “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” And James Madison said, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” As for the entire reason for war, I think it can be summed up by this quote from Benjamin Franklin, “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God”.
Why do I bring this all up? To define what a “right” is, and what our Constitution means by “right to bear arms.” In a time where healthcare and even college is considered a “right” I need to explain the philosophy that was our American Revolution. I believe John Dickerson described the belief best many years ago. “Kings or parliament could not give the rights essential to happiness, as you confess those invaded by the Stamp Act to be. We claim them from a higher source- from the King of kings, and Lord of all the earth. They are not annexed to us by parchments and seals. They are created in us by the decrees of Providence which establish the laws of nature. They are born with us; exist with us; and cannot be taken from us by any human power, without taking our lives.” Follow that up with the Declaration of Independence stating, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” And that was the revolution. What does the right to bear arms mean? Well it does not mean the government should pay for your firearms like liberals claim a “right to healthcare” means. Instead, you have a right to obtain weaponry to defend yourself, you have a right to self preservation. You do not have to trust your life to someone else with the authority to own a gun, instead it is your right to be able to defend yourself. Whether that’s from a robber, the British Empire, or any other tyrants trying to overthrow your rights.
Lastly, the militia. George Mason (who wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights which inspired the Bill of Rights) described the “militia” as the whole people. And considering Thomas Jefferson and James Madison originally campaigned against a standing army in favor of militias, we can see that militias were viewed as a military force. Essentially, the 2nd Amendment made the “whole people” an army of their own. Those who critique the 2nd Amendment say it was written in a time when we only had muskets, while that’s not completely true it does prove a point. Yes, muskets were the common gun of the day, however it was also the prominent firearm used by the Continental Army. At its very core the 2nd Amendment was ensuring the people the right to own military style weapons. Remember its purpose was not to create a right, those are God given, it was included in the Constitution under the impression tyrants would try to take that right from us. The founders specifically wanted the people to have the ability to overthrow their own government as a final check-in-balances. Whether you agree how he handled the Civil War or not, Abraham Lincoln proves this philosophy was in the minds of the people when he said, “This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it.”
Knowing all that I have said maybe you now understand my stance on “Military Style Weapons”. Yesterday Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced another ban on “Assault Weapons”. So I checked out her Twitter account where she had posted, “RT if you agree that weapons of war that are designed to kill more people, more quickly don’t belong on the streets of America.” Sorry Feinstein, but yes, weapons of war belong in the hands of every law abiding American. You know why? Because guess who gets to keep these guns “designed to kill more people”? The government. You say you wont use them on us (and maybe you won’t), but who’s to say someday someone might and we won’t be able to defend ourselves? That’s why Americans were shocked when Rand Paul exposed the government’s authority to conduct drone strikes on American citizens. Yes, you claim it will never happen, but then what is this authority for? Even if this wasn’t a possibility, you are still telling us to entrust the government with our lives, a violation of our God given rights. Those people gunned down in the Paris Attacks were defenseless, and the government failed them. In the United States we simply trusted our government to keep the background check system up-to-date, yet you still fail to submit millions of felony convictions. The government constantly fails to protect us, so we uphold the right to defend ourselves stronger than ever before. With how many AR 15s are in this country, you should know taking something like that from Americans is not going to end without a fight.