The Gun Debate and Why Many 2A Supporters Miss The Mark

I want to talk about guns.

Specifically,  I want to talk about the massive support for guns that I see on the right.  Let me take a moment right here to say very openly that my personal views on guns are not settled.  I don’t think that the 2nd amendment gives me the right to own any type of firearm – I also don’t think the 2nd amendment should be abolished.  It makes sense to me that guns optimized for producing mass casualties probably shouldn’t be available to the general public, but the right to self-defense is undeniable – so what’s the answer?

I don’t know.

I used to “know”.  I used to be really confident in my position on guns, but with the increasing number of horrific mass shootings over the last 30 years – and especially with recent tragedies fresh in my mind – I’m forced to reexamine what I know.  But while I do more research and have more conversations with people on this topic, I want to zero in on a particular facet of the gun debate that seems fatally inconsistent.

Here it is. Many of my friends on the right justify their efforts defending the 2nd amendment by saying that “the 2nd amendment protects all the rest”.  This seems to be an argument saying that because we are armed, the State will think twice before coming for our guns or occupying our homes, or in some way denying us our basic rights.  Essentially, an armed citizenry is a deterrent to a tyrannical government.

Okay.  Seems internally, logically consistent.  But it seems like it breaks down pretty fast when you apply any measure of scrutiny.

First of all – just thinking about how that fight would play out – the government has jet fighters, missiles, tanks, grenades, drones, etc.  If the State really decided to round us all up and put is into work camps they really, really could.  And even the most well-armed 2nd amendment supporter wouldn’t be able to change that outcome.  I’m not saying you should stop protecting your right to bear arms, just that you might not be as great a shot as you think you are.

Second – this argument is worst case scenario.  It’s focused on the endgame.  It’s the final confrontation between the people and an evil, corrupt, State.  Don’t get me wrong – I think it’s possible for any government to become tyrannical; history gives us plenty of examples (e.g Mao, Hitler, Stalin).  I just don’t think the best use of time is to focus on arming future revolutionaries against an enemy that may or may not appear in the next 50 or 100 years.

Third – if the intent of the right is truly as pure as to sacrifice political popularity now in favor of arming a potential future revolution against tyranny, why aren’t they equally as vocal about attacks on our 1st amendment freedoms taking place right now?  The 1st amendment protects the individual.  Period.  It gives you and I the freedom to speak our minds in public without the government interfering.  There is nothing more fundamental to the preservation of a free society than the protection of free speech.

And free speech as the cornerstone of a free society isn’t just a history lesson.  Sure, just about every totalitarian regime throughout history has cut it’s teeth by restricting speech – but first amendment violations are happening right now.  They’re happening all over the place.  Despite that, in 2016 2nd amendment supporters – presumably concerned about preventing tyrannical government overreach – donated over $350 million dollars to the NRA.  There isn’t a single organization on the right that comes close to having that kind of pull in defense of the 1st amendment.

So what gives?  Why are my conservative friends so consumed with the 2nd amendment and not the 1st?  Our republic lives or dies based on our ability to preserve and defend the 1st amendment.  And right now the 1st amendment is under attack by people who think they have a right to not be offended.  Who think that speech can be violence.  Who work to use the State to restrict what can and can’t be said.

That’s where the war for freedom is being fought right now and I don’t see many conservatives in the fight.

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Disagree with anything I said?  Great.  Leave a comment and tell me why.  Civil comments will be responded to and vitriol will be left up (b/c I believe you have the right to say whatever you want) but I probably won’t engage. 😉