The thing is - at the time the Bill of Rights was ratified, guns actually were an effective deterrent against the state. The idea is that if government ever stopped serving the people, they could forcibly overthrow the government and win their freedom.
But technology's moved on since then, and a gun is no more effective against the U.S. military than swords and slingshots were in 1776. Ask the folks at Waco or Ruby Ridge how their guns worked out for them.
If you really want to hold true to the spirit of the 2nd amendment, the best thing you could do is declassify all nuclear state secrets and make plutonium available on the market. Or, failing that, at least create a consumer market for anti-tank RPGs and man-portable surface to air missiles.
When I suggest this, every person I know has reacted with horror. "But...the terrorists will win and destroy us all!" they sputter. To which I'll just point out the end of your last sentence: "the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it." That's the point - the Declaration of Independence was suggesting that the terrorists should win, because during the American Revolution, the Americans were the terrorists.
I'm actually quite content with my sheeple existence, but I also enjoy pointing out the inconsistencies in many people's political views. It's ironic that many of the people that are the most pro-gun also support things like the Patriot Act and state control of military secrets. If you really support the right of the people to bear arms, where are my nukes?
But technology's moved on since then, and a gun is no more effective against the U.S. military than swords and slingshots were in 1776. Ask the folks at Waco or Ruby Ridge how their guns worked out for them.
If you really want to hold true to the spirit of the 2nd amendment, the best thing you could do is declassify all nuclear state secrets and make plutonium available on the market. Or, failing that, at least create a consumer market for anti-tank RPGs and man-portable surface to air missiles.
When I suggest this, every person I know has reacted with horror. "But...the terrorists will win and destroy us all!" they sputter. To which I'll just point out the end of your last sentence: "the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it." That's the point - the Declaration of Independence was suggesting that the terrorists should win, because during the American Revolution, the Americans were the terrorists.
I'm actually quite content with my sheeple existence, but I also enjoy pointing out the inconsistencies in many people's political views. It's ironic that many of the people that are the most pro-gun also support things like the Patriot Act and state control of military secrets. If you really support the right of the people to bear arms, where are my nukes?