Issue 13.15
Having laid the foundation with the understanding of what is meant by a “well-regulated militia”, we can now consider the limitations on, and the imperative importance of protecting, the law abiding citizen’s right to keep and bear arms.
In a public debate I was challenged to state clearly where I would draw the line on a citizen’s right to own weapons. The challenger said, “Do you think the citizens should be able to own tanks and fighter jets and weapons of mass destruction? You say that we should be able to defend ourselves not only against criminals and foreign invaders, but our own government if it becomes tyrannical. Do you propose to arm the public with the same things the military has?”
The questions raise some legitimate concerns and ethical questions. While I believe that, as long as we have the right to vote and that the voting process is legitimate, we should never resort to armed insurrection, but inform ourselves and make the changes we need at the ballot box. I have hopes that we will never see the destruction of representative government of, by and for the people in our nation. I also hope we will never be over-run by a foreign power bent on conquest and subjugation of our people or crowds of criminals bent on destruction.
It seems to me that it is somewhat obvious that any well-armed and organized government can subject their people to their will, even if the people are armed. Even if some of us could afford tanks, aircraft and WMDs, we would likely not be an organizational match for a fully functional government bent on our subjection. My opponent in the debate said, “You will lose because you can’t match their fire power.” The point is that we should always have the ability to defend ourselves, our families and our communities in the event of a breakdown of society, marauding criminals, foreign incursions or illegal actions by any who suppose they have power over us. Whether we could be successful or not is not the issue. It is critical that we have the right and ability to resist if and when necessary and to make tyranny or invasion so costly that those who would conceive of those actions will think twice before even trying. The Soviets learned this lesson in Afghanistan and we are repeating it. When the regular people don’t want you there and have a means to fight you, it becomes too costly in lives and treasure to continue trying to bend them to your will. If they do not have any means to fight, the subjection comes at little cost to those in the wrong and at great cost to those thus subjected. Just ask the Jews in Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Russia how being disarmed worked out for them.
Add to that the usual reason that some use that we need firearms to procure food in times of emergency and to defend our families from evil. Some people also just like sport shooting at target ranges for fun. All of these are protected along with the weightier matters we have discussed. Suffice it to say that we must vigorously defend the right to keep and bear arms for ourselves and our posterity if we hope to see liberty preserved.
Lynn West is a thinker, a teacher and a patriot. You can reach him through email at forgingthefuture2021@gmail.com or through this newspaper. Liberty is a state of being which must be continually created. These articles can help all of us discover the ways we can contribute to that outcome.