Why is there a second amendment?
as a co creator of an organization called Weed and Guns, I feel the need to defend the second amendment when it comes under assault.
Weed and Guns isn't about drugs or weapons despite our name. We don't condone brute violence, nor do we approve of elicit drugs or the like. We approve of freedom, liberty, free will and free minds. We love the pursuit of truth despite how nasty it may be. You see a city, we see the underground and how it came to be, the nods and nuances of shady things everywhere.
This argument isn't about us, this is about the truth. Normally, I would call someone a fucking moron after a 30 minute argument and call it a day. I want to "try" to lay out my opinions and thoughts on the matter in a more easily digestible way. If you aren't from America, then you probably could care less about the second amendment. Stick around though, you might find this interesting.
first we must establish a simple truth...
there is good, and there is evil.
First we need to establish there is good and evil in this world. There's not much of a debate here and this is pretty simple.
The basic perception of good and evil is fairly universal. It doesn't matter what country you're from. Some things are good and some things are evil. Acts of kindness, giving, love, empathy. These are universally accepted acts of good. Acts of evil are usually considered as murder, manipulation, conquest, racial divide, ect.
second we must establish that people can be good or evil.
This is a really easy point to make here. There are some really good people past and present in this world. We wouldn't dare put people like MLK in the same class as Stalin would we? No, they're fundamentally different.
One, an American civil rights figure and peaceful protest activist. The other, a brutal communist dictator who starved and killed 25 MILLION people. Hilter, considered the face of ultimate evil killed 17 million including the holocaust.
context is key
If you were born in America then you have more than likely never lived under a hostile government, foreign military occupation, or military dictatorship.
Why?
Well for starters, the U.S. mainland hasn't been occupied by a foreign power since the War of 1812. What does this have to with the second amendment? Well, after you've lived under, worked for, established a country for, fought and bled for such country for a king who didn't give two shits about you except for the money you produced.... maybe you would understand. And thankfully none of us do.
King George was a pretty unpopular fucking guy. His soldiers? Yeah, they were pretty fucking unpopular too. The British started implementing gun control in the colonies in 1774. Imagine that? George starts pissing people off with taxation laws and banning meetings. Americans show up with guns ready to fight. However, the British take those guns and lock them up in the town armory.
All of this was of course to quell the brewing rebellion and revolution. Obviously if you're the minority occupying force in a country. It doesn't help having armed pissed off civilians surrounding you. This tactic had a deep impact it seems on the founder's view of firearms.
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Lets break this down piece by piece and remember commas are important. Take into consideration. These were highly intelligent and highly educated men and grammar is fairly important.
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state,
Militia: A military force that is raised from the civilian population to supplement a regular army in an emergency.
Governments can be corrupted because governments are made of men and by men and we've already established that people can be evil.
This means that in order for a state to remain free and have continuity, the people have to have the right to form a force to fight. The founding fathers knew this, they just fought a war over one. The fathers were philosophers not just warriors. They knew this message wasn't just for 1776, it transcends time because evil is part of the human condition. Just because things are great now doesn't mean the next "actual literally Hitler" could be around the corner. America is the most powerful country on Earth, don't think for one second evil men don't aspire to be at the helm.
The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Lets face another solid truth here. Bad people tend to not really give a shit about what you think. Consequently the only way to get a bad guy's attention is with a gun.
Notice how it says "the people" not militia, or government, or some people. The people is you, the American citizen. No you're not fuckin G.I. Joe, you're Joe Shmoe who has the right to own a weapon. Not only do you have the right to bear arms but they should't be infringed. What does arms and infringed mean you might ask?
Arms: Weapons and ammunition, armaments.
Infringed: Actively break the terms of(law, agreement, etc)
So by definition my right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Technically speaking any form of regulation is infringement. I use the definitions because this is important. The wording doesn't say musket because they knew guns evolve. Again, these men were philosophers. You can't by law as written regulate guns or ammo. We've created wiggle room that isn't there and that in itself is dangerous because where do we stop? That's for another time.
I'M ALL FOR BACKGROUND CHECKS AND SPECIAL LICENSES FOR FULLY AUTOMATIC WEAPONS.
Is it unconstitutional? Yes, however I believe that proper enforcement of these laws make our society safer.
so... dead old guys, patriots, muskets and asshole kings. wtf does this have to with 2018?
It has everything to do with 2018 actually. For the sake of argument, I like Trump's policies. He leaves much to be desired as a personality but we knew he was an asshole beforehand. Do you mean to tell me the guy that some people call "literally Hitler". That guy.... You want him to ban guns? Hitler did ban guns because it made people considerably easier to control when they couldn't shoot back. In the age of police brutality, riots, and uncertainty, this is when we're lead to believe we should give up our shit?
Like I said before, we don't know this type of life because we're American. We're all sheltered and that's because we've built something great. You'll more than likely never even have to think of your third amendment right. Draw and quarter a soldier? Yeah as in a foreign country or your own is militarily occupying your city. You have the right to refuse your home to them.
god made man. sam colt made all men equal.
Anything of value is worth fighting for, freedom and liberty are the most important. The fathers knew not all men could fight hand to hand. Anyone can shoot a rifle. The most meek patriot can level a man at 150 yards.
There are over 300,000,000 guns in this country. There is no physical way that you could actually take all of them away. Don't think for one second that any military tactician worth a fuck, who's ever contemplated an invasion of the U.S. mainland or evil men in pursuit of power hasn't considered that statistic. There are more civilian owned firearms than there are soldiers from all the U.S. branches combined.
To the tactician, every neighborhood is a kill zone, every street an ambush. You can't bomb them all. Hearts and minds is a key to a successful theoretical occupation. Hearts and minds are hard to win when they all have the ability to physically tell you to go fuck yourself.
To the Evil man in pursuit of power, the people are the checks and balances. As long as you the American have the ability to fight back, true evil even in sheep's clothing can't remain in power. Every generation has a responsibility to keep, defend and preserve their rights and liberties for future generations.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
-Benjamin Franklin
This quote is perfect for closure here. As long as evil is part of the human condition there will always be a need to stop it. Just because we haven't seen oppression and evil on the scale our founding doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Evil transcends time and we only exist for short periods. It's very easy for a millennial to talk about peace and how great things are when the closest thing to evil they've seen is on a screen.
My grandparents were born in the great depression; struggle, starvation, desperation. They saw it. That generation saw one man almost take over the world. Stalin killed millions, Hitler killed millions, evil is born from certain conditions. Depravity and desperation coupled with anger and idle hands can turn honest men to monsters in an instant.
Gun control isn't the answer and you can't legislate evil from people. Criminals break laws, even common criminals in most cases draw a line at murder. It's the ultimate sin to take a life in any condition much less in an act of evil. This is your rights, it's not something to be taken lightly. Firearms are your last ditch ability to be able to right the course. Hopefully you'll never have to pull a trigger in anger or defense.
You don't want to wish you had a fire extinguisher when your shit is on fire. So don't find yourself without a gun when you really need it.