A defence to the 2nd Amendment: The right to bear arms.

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a political opinion has always had a strong view against the 2nd Constitutional Amendment Right in the United States. Yet here we will try and analyse a reasonable justification (yes that's correct!) for keeping the second amendment. This is because there is some reason for the right to bear arms, on the basis of self defence.

The argument that will be analysed is:

"The right to bear arms ensures the natural rights of self-defence, resistance to oppression, and the civic duty to act in concert in defiance of the state" 

So, here it goes. 

Premise: We have a right to defend ourselves from others and the state. 

To defend yourself from others seems like a reasonable justification. If others attack, you have a right to self defence. While the law of self defence has changed substantially through the ages, most modern notions of self defence are based on the actions of defence being proportional to the threat. That means if someone threatens to fling a banana skin at you, you can't pull out a rocket launcher and blow them to smithereens. Laws already limit the use of the 2nd Amendment right to make sure it is used only in proportional circumstances, otherwise a punishment will be given. But the government doesn't allow for the ownership of nuclear or chemical weaponry. This is because these kind of weapons would never be able to be successfully proportionally used against the threat of others.

So far then we can say that personal weaponry (like small arms) is useful in defending yourself against others. 

What about defending yourself against your government? Well, as much as gun enthusiasts love to tote about how they can keep the government to account through the barrel of their gun, the governments vastly superior army, military, technology and resources will always, always win. 

A massive problem: There is thus an inequality in what arms can be owned.

Because the government already restricts to a significant degree what kind of weaponry may be owned,  the right for the average American citizen to defend themselves from the wrath of the almighty government is useless, unless the state allows citizens to own weapons of the same grade as the state. 

Conclusion

The state may grant you a 'right' to defend yourself from others and from the state (which it then prevents you from doing so by means of other laws). The right to bear arms in your defence can include hitting your opponent with the arms of a stuffed dead bear, or a weapon that fires metal bullets at hundreds of km an hour.

Your right to bear arms is just an extension of your right to self defence by any proportional means necessary.

*** Note: This blog does not endorse the US 2nd Amendment Right: The Right to Bear Arms.