Gun ownership is a constitutional guarantee, and therefore any discussion about the restriction of guns must be had in terms of the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment Guarantees reads: 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. Many people on the pro-gun side of the argument wish to separate the first part of the amendment from the second, however the initial statement provides important context to the latter. The founding fathers realized that an armed American populace was necessary “to the security of the free state”; having just overthrown a tyrannical government the leaders of America knew how vital an armed citizen was to the victory against the oppressive British government. The concept of a citizen soldier is one of the most central pieces of our nation’s creation. Those that oppose gun ownership idea point out that we have a militia, the National Guard. The Army National Guard as it stands today is not the militia our founders envisioned, rather it is an extension of the Federal government, it can be federalized to put down any insurrection in the states, and ordered overseas. How is a militia of the citizens supposed to protect the people against a tyrannical Federal government when they are so closely entwined with the Army and the executive branch? Those that believe resistance to a tyrannical government is unfeasible are delusional. No American soldier is going to disarm attack or otherwise infringe on any American’s constitutional rights, for that is the document they swore an oath to. The militia men of old owned their own militia weapons and took them to war, returning home with those arms. Therefore, it only makes sense that the modern militiaman would keep and bear the arms of the militia: the semi-automatic rifle with a medium capacity magazine. Those who seek to disarm the American people of effective arms to wage war with only invite disaster upon all of us. It is the right and responsibility of every American citizen to defend our country from enemies foreign and domestic. But let us not argue about what the founding fathers intended, for they clearly stated:
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government"
- Thomas Jefferson
"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed."
- Alexander Hamilton
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined."
- Patrick Henry
"To disarm the people... was the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
- George Mason
How are you supposed to defend a nation with 3 round hunting rifles and 9mm handguns? The sheep that cry for the constraining of the sheepdogs only invite the predation of the wolves.