A member of the Constitutional Convention, George Mason, once said that “The best and most effectual way to enslave the people is to disarm them.” This quote is not merely a product of George Mason’s opinion; his claim is backed by examples of a disarmed population being enslaved by their government in the past. For example, in 1938, Hitler of the Nazi party made a law prohibiting Jews from keeping or bearing firearms. By taking the Jews’ guns, the Jews had no effective way to defend themselves from being killed or sent to concentration camps by the Nazis. Despite previous examples in the past, some people question the importance of having the ability to defend against the government. These people say that it would be impossible for the civilians to overthrow the government of countries such as the US because the government and its military have technology far more advanced than the civilians’ technology. Even though there would be a slim chance of a successful revolution, it is always better to have a fighting chance. Without the proper firearms such as more advanced assault rifles, civilians of a tyrannical government would be defeated much sooner than the unarmed citizens. Since laws banning and limiting firearms would stop civilians from successfully overthrowing an oppressive government, such laws should not be
A member of the Constitutional Convention, George Mason, once said that “The best and most effectual way to enslave the people is to disarm them.” This quote is not merely a product of George Mason’s opinion; his claim is backed by examples of a disarmed population being enslaved by their government in the past. For example, in 1938, Hitler of the Nazi party made a law prohibiting Jews from keeping or bearing firearms. By taking the Jews’ guns, the Jews had no effective way to defend themselves from being killed or sent to concentration camps by the Nazis. Despite previous examples in the past, some people question the importance of having the ability to defend against the government. These people say that it would be impossible for the civilians to overthrow the government of countries such as the US because the government and its military have technology far more advanced than the civilians’ technology. Even though there would be a slim chance of a successful revolution, it is always better to have a fighting chance. Without the proper firearms such as more advanced assault rifles, civilians of a tyrannical government would be defeated much sooner than the unarmed citizens. Since laws banning and limiting firearms would stop civilians from successfully overthrowing an oppressive government, such laws should not be