The Second Amendment: Could Americans Actually Overthrow Their Government?
Washington and Madison understood this all along.
by Rod D. Martin
November 7, 2015
Today I received a comment concerning the utility of the Second Amendment: not just whether the people ought to be able to overthrow their government, but whether today they actually could (a lot having changed in two centuries). My (very liberal) correspondent spilled a lot of ink decrying the fact that Americans own so many guns, and cited the usual leftist studies (such as those from the "nonpartisan" Annenberg Foundation, which funds Bill Ayers, ACORN and Factcheck.org). But he also went further to suggest that any deterrent effect gun ownership might have against tyranny seems minimal:
Compared to other Western countries the US seems to have a problem with government tyranny. Cops can shoot innocent people without getting jailed, police can take people's money, cars, houses and yes, even those guns without trial! See Civil forfeiture in the United States.
That's unheard of in almost all Western countries. Why is this government overreach common in th…