One of the best arguments against gun control I ever read came from Michael Kinsley who was writing in favor of gun control. He believed the only way to have effective gun control would be to repeal the Second Amendment to the Constitution. Since we're not about to do that any time soon....One of the worst arguments 2nd Amendment enthusiasts ever come up with to defend the rights of gun owners is that gun ownership is necessary "that an armed citizenry can resist the tyranny of its own government."
For a moment, let's accept the premise. What then is the upper limit on the homeowner's options for defending his property from a possibly tyrannical state? A howitzer? A bazooka? An M-1 tank? An aircraft carrier? How about a tactical nuclear bomb? Because let's face it. The US government has all of these, and ain't nobody planning on revolting any time soon, at least this side of Waco.
So, the 2nd Amendment is not sufficient to counter a monopoly of force by the state. If the purpose of the 2nd amendment is to achieve even rough parity between man and the ruling class then it's a museum curiousity and nothing more.
Its also in direct conflict with the American experiment in republican government. Inherent in the formulation, "All men are created equal," is the belief that each man is sovereign, and therefore no man has better standing than any other. As part of this sovereignty is the belief that each man is endowed with inalienable rights, among those the right to bear arms. It is there we find the cause for this right to be listed along with freedom of religion and freedom of speech. It is inherent to the individual, and not to any desire for a countervailing force to the republic.
The republic we would rebel against would not be of the type of government that we rebelled against in 1776. There, we were subjects to a king, a foreign king at that, with whom all soveriengty rested. Such rights we had were those granted to us by the sovereign and by his will (and act of a foreign parliament).
Instead we have a republic where sovereignty is rested with our fellow citizens and exercised through the franchise. Sometimes, our fellow citizens are wrong. Indeed, sometimes we elect some pretty corrupt bastards. But we have mechanisms for correction, we have the means to persuade our fellow citizens of our cause and, fortunately, we have the national strength to endure even the mistakes of Nixon, Ford and Carter. We should embrace and celebrate our good fortune rather than wonder at insurrection.
Should we have cause to worry that out government is indeed tyrannical the weapons that will help us most are not the personal handgun concealed in some lady's handbag but the moral force of the vision of this country's founders. Should it come that we live in tyranny we'll have far more to worry about than the gun in our home, and we'll have less hope than those nations we inspire.
