You can outlaw so called assault rifles but people
will still get them, they will just be contraband smuggled into the country and
cost more! Also I think it important to try and understand why our fore fathers
even thought this bearing of arms by citizens was so important. Let’s go back
to the colonies right after the Declaration of Independence was signed and the
Constitution was still being debated. Remember the Constitution as we know it
today wasn’t even ratified until 1789! During the Revolutionary War era, the British
recognized the colonists would use their weapons to defend themselves, so they
made efforts to confiscate as many weapons as they could. (Sound familiar!) If
you recall, this was the primary instigation of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the
Revolution. These battles erupted when the British were trying to capture the
colonists' weapons and ammunition stores at Concord. (Gun control!). Also
during this time you had Loyalist who still supported the king versus the
Colonist who supported the revolution. The king allowed the Loyalist to have
guns and form militias to help England keep the colonies in line. The king
outlawed any gun ownership by the Colonist and outlawed their ability to form
their militias to fight against the king! That’s why the second amendment
mentions militias and citizens right to bear arms. You couldn’t form militias
without individual citizens having guns! If you read the writings of Jefferson
and others at the time their main concern was to make sure the citizens of the
new country were not disarmed and not have the ability to defend themselves
against its own government, and foreign intruders! Even if our standing armies
were overcome and if someone was foolish enough to try and invade the US, they
could never overcome the millions of individuals who are armed and trained to
use their weapons! If history tells us anything disarming citizens is the first
step to dictatorship and tyranny! Ask the disarmed Jew in Nazi Germany! Ask the
disarmed Russians under Stalin after 1929! Ask Ugandans what happened to a
disarmed population after Idi Amin came to power during the 1970’s! Ask the
Cambodians after the Khmer Rouge came to power2
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