One argument states we need guns to protect ourselves against a "tyrannical government". I'm still trying to wrap my head around that. Here's why.
Civil War. The south used firepower against the north. Who won?
Civil Rights Movement. No firepower used. Who won?
Really recent - Occupy Movement. When one Occupier in some big city threw a rock, the story went viral all over the internet like the whole group was a pack of violent shits. One guy. One rock. How do you suppose the internet would have looked if the rock thrower had flung bullets instead? Or a whole group of people had flung bullets? How many people would have supported the Occupier's "tyrannical government" reaction?
This might be my biggest problem with the armed overthrow idea. It simply doesn't bear out. History shows it.
We have a Second Amendment, and the Supreme Court decided we have an individual right to own arms for personal protection, hunting, sport shooting. It did not decide we have the individual right to own arms against the federal government. If you point your gun at the President, a Secret Service worker will smack you down. Quick.
You don't need firearms to protect yourself against the federal government. You. Don't. Need. A Gun. For. That. The more likely scenario is - you resent the government because it puts constraints on you, behaves in stupid ways...and then expects you to pay for its ineptitude. You're pissed. You feel shat upon. You want change.
I get it.
You need a pen, a grassroots movement, a representative to listen to you, and in today's environment - it wouldn't hurt to have a big-daddy lobbyist group muscling your idea into Congress.
But. You. Don't. Need. A. Gun. If you think you need a gun, what you really need is a civics class.
Here are some valid reasons for needing a gun: hunting, target shooting, personal protection in your home. Stick with those reasons when you formulate your arguments. Leave the government out of it for fuller power on your side because like it or not, most Americans don't react well to other Americans threatening violence against the government. It's not because most Americans are nanny-state-loving, big-brother-adoring, welfare-lazying helpless waifs who swoon and bat their eyelashes while the big, strong, government comes to their worthless rescue. It's because most Americans - who are JUST as annoyed by government antics as you are - see how the Civil Rights Movement worked...and the Civil War didn't. They see how women's equality works, they see how same-sex marriage is working. They see that a well-regulated militia in rainbow camouflage shooting their way into the White House does not lead to change. It leads to a lot of colorfully-clad people getting killed. Real government change works agonizingly slooooooooooooooow. Guess what? It's as the Founders intended. We don't change course like a dinghy, we change course like a ship.
A government turning against its People is the end result of an armed revolution against the government. Therefore, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy, making "government the enemy". So, check your motives. Are you REALLY in favor of an armed population so we can take down the government? Because if you are, I would submit that you're seeking aggression more than you're seeking a better America.
We The People have the right to bear arms. We also have the right to create laws regarding limits on all rights, including the right to bear arms. Gun fans - here's advice (from me, a fellow gun fan). Avoid the arguments that make your case FEEL good and stick with the arguments that make your case LOOK good. Trust me.
