Tyranny v. Liberty

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.

The wording of the Second Amendment is often questioned: The pointed reference to a "well-regulated Militia" led to the Supreme Court’s decision that the Second Amendment promised a collective right, not an individual right. But that precedent has been shattered.

On June 28th, the Supreme Court ruled in McDonald v. Chicago that the Second Amendment does indeed guarantee the right of individuals to keep and bear arms for their own protection. This decision, coupled with 2008's D.C. v. Heller, represents one of the most critical triumphs for individual liberties this century.

Gun-fearing leftists claim to be advocating for your safety and well-being. But the entire foundation of their argument is faulty. Why? Because guns actually keep people safe.

If you were a common criminal - bear with me here - and you wandered into somebody's house to steal stuff, only to have someone point a gun at you, would you bother? Probably not.

Research has consistently failed to show that gun control helps at all. Miguel A. Faria - who is actually a neurosurgeon, not a pundit - wrote about how strict gun control laws harmed Britain while gun ownership helped America:

Violent crime is steadily coming down in American cities, despite the fact that there are more guns in America than ever before… and record numbers of citizens carrying permits for concealed firearms… To make matters worse for British citizen disarmament… crime has steadily increased in Britain in the last several years.

And furthermore, according to the CDC only 0.3 in 100,000 people died because of "accidental discharge of firearms" in the United States.

Taking guns away doesn't keep America safe. And it certainly doesn't keep them out of the hands of criminals. As my favorite blogger, Doctor Zero, observed, "'Gun-free' cities like Chicago produce bumper crops of bullet-riddled corpses."

When the founders talked about a "Militia," they meant that the people could freely build a network of trust and help keep each other safe. With guns. They also meant that an armed populace could keep a tyrannical government at bay. It's about time the Court recognized that.

This quote is falsely attributed to Thomas Jefferson, but it sums up the issue perfectly: "Where the people fear the government there is tyranny. Where the government fears the people there is liberty."

I don't know about you, but I'm all for liberty.