Fairytales have those warm, feel-good endings. But reality plays out differently than fiction. In a perfect world, no one would need a gun. That’s the gun control advocates’ ultimate utopia. They want a planet and a life without the 2nd Amendment.
As a general rule, no 2nd Amendment means no civilian gun ownership. Government entities reserve the sole right to arms. Military and police handle access to all firearms. Gun ownership becomes a privilege and not a fundamental human right. Heavy government regulation guards against regular citizens owning these weapons.
I will guide you to what life is like with the 2nd amendment. Then, we will go on a journey to discover the “what-if” scenarios in a world void of guns.
Let me share my knowledge of hypothetical situations.
Life Today With the 2nd Amendment
Before going into the “what-if” scenarios, we need to define the current situation. America does have a 2nd Amendment!
There are 2 camps you find yourself in:
2nd Amendment Supporters vs Gun Control Advocates
You can’t be in the middle because of the issue’s complexity. Guns are an emotional concern. It draws attention from the politically inactive to the active.
In other words, you need to take a stance. Decide your viewpoint on civilian firearm ownership.
Do you want a life with or without the 2nd amendment?
2nd Amendment Supporters and Gun Owners
I say “2nd Amendment Supporters” because you personally might not own firearms. But you support the individual rights of citizens to own them.
What do firearms represent to gun owners?
They provide the following feelings:
- A sense of security to protect liberty
- A fallback option for dire circumstances
- A culture of self-reliance
The 2nd amendment is the protector of all the other amendments in the Bill of Rights. Without it, you don’t have your 1st or 5th Amendments.
Trying to visualize a world without it is hard. Americans love their freedom.
Maintaining the 2nd Amendment is the most important ingredient to securing liberty.
Most anti-gunners don’t understand this aspect. They don’t see a world of freedom versus no freedom. Their vision is linear.
They want to erase this right like it never existed.
Thus, feelings are an important part of understanding the different sides. American firearm enthusiasts can’t see a world without this precious amendment.
Gun Control Advocates
The anti-gunners see the 2nd Amendment as a threat to civil society. A “regular Joe or Jane” owning a gun isn’t necessary.
Gun-control supporters feel this way about firearms:
- tremble at the sight of a gun
- worry about the implications of civilian gun ownership. I.e., shootings, endless crime
- ban all guns and live a life without the 2nd Amendment
They take these beliefs and make general comparisons.
For instance, they contrast the United States to other Western countries such as Australia or New Zealand. None of these places have a 2nd Amendment. So, this is an example of life without civilian gun ownership to them.
However, they fail to examine the 2nd Amendment from its true worth.
Our Bill of Rights is a whole piece of legislation. Picking apart pieces of a fundamental human right’s document scares gun owners. It is a threat to freedom.
Gun owners think:
- Could they ban freedom of speech?
- Could they form a state church and abolish freedom of religion?
- Could they barge into your house without a warrant?
And the list goes on…
Yes, there is a process to amend constitutional amendments. You could abolish the 2nd Amendment with enough votes. That’s a way to pretend like it never existed.
But I won’t focus on that in this post.
Anti-gunners didn’t want the 2nd amendment in the first place. Or they want to make it disappear like a rabbit in a sleazy hat trick.
If the 2nd Amendment is gone, what made it disappear? LEARN MORE about the potential threats to the 2nd.
A Lack of Securing Basic Rights
When you envision a life of no 2nd amendment, you think of creepy dictators. They want to implement their frightening master plans. Here is an example of a population with no firearm rights.
Hitler’s Gun Confiscation
Hitler considered Jews enemies of the state. Therefore, the Nazis instituted gun control.
In 1938, a new weapons law banned Jewish gun ownership. Jews needed police permission to own arms.
Banned objects included:
- firearms
- ammunition
- police-style batons
- knives
Wait a minute! The Jews couldn’t own a simple object such as a knife? No, they couldn’t.
The text describes this as “stabbing weapons” as forbidden.
Here is a link to the full text of the 1938 Weapons Law.
Imagine yourself in this scenario. You’re a 1930s German Jew.
The government outlawed all these weapons including knives. As a result, you have that “gut feeling” that you know something bad is about to happen.
If you’re left defenseless, what kind of power does that leave you with? None…
You’re at the mercy of your overlords- or the government officials. And it didn’t take long for the Nazis to act on their true intentions.
On November 9-10, German thugs confiscated weapons and arrested thousands of Jews. This became known as the “Night of Broken Glass”.
Broken glass littered the streets from all the shattered Jewish shop windows. The German word for this is Kristallnacht.
While some Jews resisted, we all know the outcome. Disarmed populations with no 2nd Amendment can’t overcome government power.
Recent Ukrainian No 2nd Amendment Case Study
In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Multiple land disputes and cultural differences led to this conflict.
Thus, when war came, weapons, ammunition, and a strong desire for defense occurred out of fear. Citizens didn’t want to lose their Ukrainian identity and heritage.
Let’s be honest about Ukraine.
Ukraine didn’t have a rich firearm culture like the United States. Their historical position became an overall policy of civilian firearm suppression. If you did belong to the military or police, owning a firearm required an extensive process.
Yet, dire circumstances prompted governments and individuals to rethink their anti-gun positions.
Due to a foreign invasion, the Ukrainian government encouraged civilians to fight. Soldiers and armed militia needed to defend their homeland. They supplied thousands of rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition to civilians.
Can you trust regular everyday Ukrainians with weapons?
No other choice existed. And your average private citizen became the militia defending against invasion.
Don’t underestimate the power of an armed civilian populace. The 2nd Amendment represents citizens’ right to liberty and freedom.
This event shows the importance of the 2nd Amendment. LEARN MORE why Americans and others want the 2nd Amendment.
Anti-Gunners’ Utopia and Life Without Its Existence
Now, we are to the fun “what-if” scenarios.
In an anti-gunner world, firearms, bullets, and world peace rule. They declared war against guns.
Yet, we live in an imperfect world. Guns exist. As a result, their motto is “limited availability”. This means the government controls the flow of firearms. And they also have a monopoly on force.
What a scary scenario for gun owners.
It is as if the Founding Fathers never uttered the words “Bill of Rights” or “2nd Amendment”. They’re absent from our modern vocabulary.
“What-If” Scenarios:
1. America Wouldn’t Exist in Its Current Form
- Would you enjoy the continuing freedoms guaranteed in America?
- What would your neighborhood look like?
These “what-if” scenarios generate more questions than answers. You want to foresee life’s vision without our beloved 2nd Amendment.
For one, America would not be the world powerhouse. Other nations would not respect us.
The 2nd Amendment keeps our government more honest. “We the People” are the government. Corrupt dictators hijacking America is a less likely option.
Undeniably, a distinct part of American culture is the 2nd Amendment.
Our neighbors in Asia and Europe understand this important aspect.
America’s individualistic culture supports the 2nd Amendment. Collective societies don’t want individuals to own guns. Instead, they prefer security over liberty.
Moreover, America is a “mixing pot” of personalities with different interests. You have the liberty to speak your mind without fear.
The 2nd Amendment backs up the 1st Amendment.
You don’t want a Hitler scenario like I presented above. Political opposition’s goal is to silence you at whatever costs.
The culture you enjoy today wouldn’t exist without the 2nd Amendment’s protection.
2. A Nation Ruled by Warlords
James Madison warned of factions. He emphasized the dangers of them in Federalist #10. The Constitution includes a checks and balances system. Thus, this makes it harder for one person to acquire absolute power.
Warlords represent a fractured America and the consolidation of authority.
On average, a strong, charismatic leader makes the decisions. They issue orders to their armed foot soldiers on needed actions to maintain power.
Without firearms, the master controls your family and you. Their obligations become your problems too.
If they have a “beef” with someone, you fight for them due to their coercive power over you.
Thus, an armed populace keeps warlords and factions at bay. A firearm provides security and self-reliance. You know you could resist confrontation if warranted.
No one wants to live in the constant turmoil that warlords bring.
Why do you think people leave Somalia? Warlords rule there, and they have no way of defending themselves.
You end up becoming a death statistic if you don’t have a 2nd amendment.
Americans are hard to understand at times. LEARN MORE about American self-reliant traits.
Conclusion
Living a life wondering about the longevity of the 2nd Amendment causes some concern. You start thinking about what life would be without it if the founders never wrote it.
Anti-gunners want to rid the idea of a 2nd Amendment altogether. They want to press the delete key and banish it from American vocabulary.
Overall, Americans need to keep the 2nd Amendment alive. Letting it go would make America a distant part of history.
How do you envision your life without the 2nd Amendment?
J. Liberty
References:
Harcourt, B. E. (2004). On Gun Registration, the NRA, Adolf Hitler, and Nazi Gun Laws: Exploding the Gun Culture Wars (A Call to Historians). Fordham L. Rev., 73, 653.
Polsby, D. D., & Kates Jr, D. B. (1997). Of Holocausts and Gun Control. Wash. ULQ, 75, 1237.
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