The Second Amendment, A Quick Rant
I do not want to hear arguments for dismantling the second amendment ever again. Ever.
No other protection of our rights as been attacked so viscously, for so long, or so dishonestly as our right to bear arms.
For far too long the law-abiding gun owner has been subjected to more and more restrictions and regulations while continuing to put money in the pockets of those that make the regulations.
The American hunter has been one of the largest contributors both physically and financially to conservation within this country. We pay through permits, licenses, taxes, fuel, boats, ammunition, donations, firearms, clothing, etc. I have seen more trash picked up by hunters continuously in one hunting season than most organization’s volunteers will collect in a year. (A quick note, if you are a volunteer, please keep doing what you are doing, I am not harping on you)
Oh but don’t worry they say. Regulations will not affect hunters they say. They only affect the scary looking guns like the Smith & Wesson M&P15-22 for example or the this version of the Ruger 10-22. But you can still use something that looks like the Winchester Model 1894…for now.
I know that I am preaching to the choir, but the second amendment has nothing, nothing, NOTHING to do with hunting. And all these examples that we are given about the scary looking guns versus the ones that are acceptable are always presented by people that are… uneducated (that is putting it nicely)
To be fair, the above firearms that I listed are not the specific models I have seen targeted in anti-gun presentations, but it is a fair example of the over-reaching attempts by gun grabbers. So, I can’t use a 22 caliber platform simply because it looks scary but I can use something chambered in 30-30 Winchester because it is made of wood and looks old? Again, I know I am preaching to the chore and I promise I am getting to my main point very soon.
Lets not forget the most popular anti-gun question of all, “why do you need it?”
Why do you need a firearm that holds 10,20, 30 rounds of ammunition?
Why do you need a long gun with a pistol grip or adjustable stock?
Or a bump stock?
Or an AR style platform?
Or a semi-automatic?
Or any other of the endless variations of a firearm?
The simplest answer is that I live in the United States of American where we have the second amendment, which is not supposed to be infringed upon. I actually chuckled a bit writing that last part considering how many laws and restrictions the American gun owner has already conceded to.
But ultimately the best answer I can convey is currently staring many Americans in the eye. And that is bad stuff happens by bad people every single day. What’s it been now, six, seven days of rioting, looting and cities on fire from one coast to the other?
Businesses being broken into, people being violently harmed or murdered, highways shut down, people being dragged from their vehicles, police stations burned to the ground, and police officers specifically targeted and murdered.
Most people being affected, harmed or killed in these riots are innocent people of the community. This recent event is just a large-scale presentation of those bad things that happen every single day. And now those groups may be shifting their focus from downtown areas, to residential areas.
Why do you need a firearm? Turn on the news.
Bryan Lynch is an outdoor and emergency preparedness enthusiast. Additionally, he is the author of, The Swiss Army Knife Camping and Outdoor Survival Guide, as well as a content creator for various websites including guncritic.com.