Whaaaaaa?????????

Conservatives love 2 things more than anything else. National defense and the 2nd Amendment. That's kinda funny though, because if you believe Alex Jones and his meltdown (hooooooooly shit - did you watch that), the reason we need unregulated gun ownership is BECAUSE of the government and their guns. Of course gun "enthusiasts" never mention how their AR-15s, and AK-47s will be effective against the military's M-16s and M-4s, to say nothing of the rocket propelled grenades, shoulder launch missiles, fighters, bombers, armored vehicles. Right - if the government becomes tyrannical - by making everyone buy health insurance - we will be forced to defend ourselves. Now I know it's not fair to view 2nd Amendment advocates through the prism of Mr. Jones, but let's be real, there's an asshattery charged end of this debate that REALLY thinks giving up guns is what the elites in the New World Order want so they can start the slippery slope of oppression.

Really???????

Look if the cause of gun violence has nothing to do with guns - which sounds counter intuitive - let's have a real discussion about it. If the platitude "Guns don't kill people. People kill people." is true, and I think it is, then let's follow it to its logical conclusion. If you throw that out in a debate, and think it's the endpoint, you're being lazy. What does it mean? It means the problem variable in the gun violence is people. Some people should NOT have fucking guns. That's what it means. What does that mean? It means closing loopholes for background checks so people that shouldn't have guns have a tougher time getting them. No background checks at gun shows? Close it. If that inconveniences enthusiasts - tough shit. We have a right to go to the mall, or the movie, or our kids to school and NOT get shot. That's my liberty, and your right to arms interferes with it. So fuck you and your gun.

Oh, and the 2nd Amendment having intent to arm citizens to overthrow oppressive government - wrong. It's to serve in state militias in defense of a free state. Read the 2nd Amendment, and read the Federalist Papers. Look at Federalist #29 in particular.

After that if you still want to protect us from the government - cut the Pentagon's budget. It's too goddamn big anyway. The Founders were not fans of standing armies, so don't cherry pick their ideas selfishly. Own all that. Besides, now that Republicans are concerned about the deficit and wasteful spending, put that shit on the chopping block too. More than the next 13 countries in the world combined is what we spend on defense, AND countries with defense budgets #4 through #9 are our allies. Do we need to protect ourselves from France?

You're welcome