At this point, most gun owners have seen the ubiquitous “I lost all my guns in a boating accident” memes, or made jokes to friends about what you’d do in the event that “they” finally do “come for your guns”. And, while at first this might seem like hyperbole, there have been numerous politicians promising future gun bans, confiscations and harsh criminalization of citizens who currently own firearms legally. To many in the general public who are uneducated about firearms, a politician’s promise to “get guns off the streets” might seem reasonable at first. However, the pandemic of 2020 combined with recent high profile examples of police brutality and racism have led to civil unrest, mistrust of law enforcement and increased fear among the general public. Amid the angry cries to “defund the police”, a growing number of US citizens are quietly buying guns for the first time.
Caught between police brutality and the violence that ensues when the police are defunded, progressives and moderates are beginning to care about gun rights. The statistics about gun buyers and COVID-19 are very telling: there are millions of 1st-time gun-buyers in the year 2020. Given the recent civil unrest, liberal gun owners (yes, they’re out there) are being increasingly joined by other progressives and moderates who are now interested in owning a gun. With the threat of a pandemic and the shocking killing of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer, the American public seems to be learning two lessons. One: that police are not always the good guys. Two: that civil unrest such as riots and increased violence due to lack of police presence leave many innocent people vulnerable and in need of personal protection. Enter… gun ownership.
Caught between police brutality and the violence that ensues when the police are defunded, gun rights aren’t about progressive vs conservative anymore.
The interesting thing about the gun debate is that both those for and against would both agree with the following statement: “people are potentially violent and may be harmful to themselves or others”. Those in favor of gun control would cite past acts of violence as examples of why we need more gun control, while others would counter that the threat of violence is exactly why you need to own a gun to defend yourself. Given this impasse, I choose the option that affirms my right to self-protection. When the lights go out, the police are defunded and you’re on your own, would you rather own a gun or not?
Cops are racist, only cops should have guns…?
If the police and federal troops are truly racist, does it make sense that they should be the only ones with guns? The anti-gun narrative really can’t answer this question logically. Furthermore, the recent calls to defund the police have actually made violence in cities worse because gangs and other criminals are free to commit crimes without law enforcement interference (defund police, increase crime). Amid increased crime, fear of police/government abuse of power and citizens nationwide fearing for their safety, it’s high time the Left reevaluated its anti-gun stance.
The accepted wisdom is that the Right Wing supports gun rights while the Left Wing is in favor of very strict gun control. But, this is actually incorrect. The truth is that gun-rights vs. gun-control is a political hot-button that politicians use to rally a base of supporters to their cause. Those who own guns fear government restrictions on their rights, while those who don’t own guns are afraid of them. Both republicans and democrats play into these fears in order to get votes, which is problematic. However, the right to self-protection and defense against tyranny are universal rights there for protection and defense against government (including the police) tyranny.
I Lost All My Guns In A Voting Accident
With more people becoming aware of police brutality, government abuse of power, and the violence that quickly ensues when the police are absent (or defunded), the Second Amendment is more relevant today than ever. Gun ownership is not about progressive vs conservative, it’s about taking responsibility to protect yourself.