The American 2nd Amendment is an outdated piece of sh**

*** You said that America is the most powerful nation on earth, and if it becomes tyrannical, no one will come to the citizen’s aid. You use Russia and China as examples. SO I ASKED How do armed mom and pops without chain of command actuallydeter the US military that was designed to have land, sea and air superiority?You validated this yourself by stating that the US government is now keeping a hit-list, has mass surveillance programs, and is now Too Big to Curtail. Isn't this evidence that the government is NOT deterred by the large number of guns Americans are keeping in their homes? I ARGUEDFar from resolving the conflict, armed cowboys firing here and there will simply justify military retaliation in the name of the collective right to defend the state. Modern Syria is the case in point. HERE's MY SOLUTION Exercise your right to free-speech and assembly, enact balance of power, promote transparency, civil disobedience, vote! I included the examples of Egypt and the Arab Spring to show that you don’t need external influence and aid for change to happen. They relied solely on free-speech and assembly while cognizant that use of guns will disenfranchise their cause. In the case of Egypt, the military instead of being used as tool of oppression, came to the aid of the citizens! I argue that the same is even more likely in the US where the 1st amendment is institutionalized and has been the engine of its modern success.The day the US abandons the 1st amendment is the day they break the Union and together with it, the power of the aspiring tyrant.The problem here it seems is that you measure power by how much you inflict physical hurt.Trust me - Edward Snowden is hurting the government much more than the millions of guns in America’s basement. He is the one solving the problems you mentioned – the hit-list, surveillance programs and too big to curtail. YOU MENTIONED RUSSIA AND CHINA But how are they in support of your arguments? Their protracted history of internal conflict and civil war for the most part of the 20th century is proof that guns don’t solve anything. In Chechnya, guns and bombs didn’t further their cause. They are labeled terrorists and dealt with decisively by Putin’s military. China’s Cultural Revolution. Very horrific example of how civil revolts are efficiently crushed. Communism’s economic downfall, and not guns, led to the collapse of the USSR and Communist China. *** You said that use of guns reduce murder THE STUDY YOU GAVE HAS BIASED STATISTICS It used “gun murder rates as % of population” to compare the US with European countries with relatively lower population. And when it came to listing the total number of people killed, it blatantlyomitted the figure for the US. The study also purposely limited itself to “gun deaths” without addressing the broader statistics of “gun violence” especially in the perpetration of crime. GUNS ARE THE OLD SOLUTION TO SELF-DEFENSE I alluded that weapons are in fact needed for self-defense except that guns shouldbe replaced with modern tools. Electric-shock weapons are better since they are designed to decisively end the altercationbut without unnecessarily ending the life of the assailant, which if dead, is denied justice. George Zimmerman can still accomplish his goal of defending himself with a Taser but with the bonus of equally letting Trayvon Martin have his day in court. LETHAL STATISTICS You ignored the other part of the equation where “granting” the right to guns meantthat anyone has unrestricted access to not just ordinary guns, but the most lethal ones capable of killing several dozens of people beyond what is required for self-defense. And the US certainly tops the statistics when it comes to mass murder with military-style weapons. *** You quoted John Locke in the Defense for Tyranny when his context was not exclusive to Guns. JOHN LOCKE NEVER PROPOSED GUNS AS SOLUTION TO INCOME INEQUALITY You solve this with sound fiscal and economic policies. JOHN LOCK ADVOCATES REVOLUTION AS OBLIGATION I AGREE! However, He didn’t say we should limit the exercise of revolution to one specific technological tool!!! I have highlighted several times, that in the modern world when faced with overwhelming military power, the best tool for revolution is free-speech, assembly, and everything that wrought Cardinal Richelieu to say “the pen is mightier than the sword”. Modern revolutions are no longer exclusive to the use of an armed force. In fact, it was the persistent restraint not to use violence which made them more potent. It was the power of the letter of persuasion and conviction that evoked the passions of the masses for a peaceful revolution. And I’m sure John Locke wouldn’t be more pleased with these examples - India 1930 Czechoslovakia 1968 Portugal 1974 Iran 1979 The Philippines 1986, and 2001 Baltic States 1989 Germany 1989 Bulgaria 1989 Romania 1990 Slovakia/Crotia 2000 Georgia 2003, and 2007 Ukraine 2004 Lebanon 2005 Belarus 2005 Moldova 2005 Mongolia 2005 Occupy Wall Street 2011 Arab Spring 2011-2013 Can you give a similar list in the modern world were armed citizenry led a successful revolt? THE PRESENT IS INDICATION OF WHAT WE CAN SEE IN THE FUTUREAnd in the modern Information Age, peaceful revolts and not violence are the dominant avenues tocounter oppressive regimes. If there’s any real utility, guns offer nothing but a false sense of security. It’s like the massage chair. You think you need it but once you have it, you know it’s useless. At the end of the day, if you like to put contraptions that shoots metal as part of the constitution, why not the Toilet? It has more utility - Sanitation is better than Revolution! Sources - http://www.culturaldiplomacy.org... http://en.wikipedia.org... http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca...