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Spearchucker's avatar

March, you're actually mistaken about some of what you said about weapon ownership at the time of the writing of the 2nd Amendment. While private ownership of cannon was not common, it was not prohibited by law. Cannon were simply expensive and not practical for most people to own. And your analogy of people now not being expected to own a fighter jet was interesting. At the time the Constitution was written, private ownership of what was then the most powerful weapon in the world was permitted. What was that weapon? A ship of war, the most feared weapon in the world. Again, not many private individuals could afford to own a "ship of the line", or even something the size of a frigate, but many individuals owned smaller vessels that were well armed with multiple cannon. Some of those ships were used as privateers during the Revolution and the War of 1812, as well as many other times when the US was supposedly at peace.

The point being that the 2nd Amendment was not meant to restrict ANY weaponry. Which is why it does not mention any such restrictions. My own feeling is that the Founders never dreamed that the People of the United States would ever permit such restrictions; the whole point of 2A was to allow the citizenry to be able to match the firepower of the government, so that if the government turned against the people it could be removed by force if necessary. Exactly as happened during the Revolution.

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Dave Leith's avatar

Unfortunately, the biggest threat we face is domestic, and I’d say this is essentially pointing to Mussolini’s definition of fascism. It is central government at the top, corporate power at the top, and a cadre of the Plutocrats joining forces as a direct and indirect threat to the people’s liberty and general welfare.

So, as a means to effectively confront this evil from within, I’m absolutely not against the 2nd amendment. It is foolhardy to believe that we could protect our rights and dignities without the judicious threat of violence and overall physical well being of our opponent in terms of both life and critical infrastructure.

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