Weapons: Technology and Restriction

[saxitoxin]

To others, I am curious, particularly to those of first world nations, how owning weapons and keeping maintained militias ensures liberty to the common citizen? When the American constitution was drafted it was musket vs musket, but now we live in an age when governments have access to napalm, carpet bombing, and tanks, it's fairly likely in my opinion no matter how well regulated a local militia may be, it is impossible to theoretically "win" against a first world government without international intervention.

Don't tell that to the Iraqi insurgents.

(Yeah, I know the US "voluntarily withdrew" ... in most other wars when your last 25,000 troops are driving at full speed toward the border with air cover and taking incoming mortar rounds in the process it's called a retreat.)

Also a little dated but, in 1916, the Mexican general staff was tasked with gaming a plan for the invasion and occupation of Arizona and New Mexico and concluded it was unfeasible for three reasons, the third of which was the large number of private weapons among the gringos would have made pacification of the territory too bloody to be viable.

[saxitoxin]

Of course, weapons or not, it is impossible to have an armed revolt in US because the relative standard of living is too high. When needs of the population have passed from sustainability to superfluidity a popular uprising can never mobilize enough partisans no matter how tyrannical the government.

The credit rating system does a better job of keeping the population in check than any number of troops or police. Most federal defendants declare bankruptcy. The OWS bombers or the Hutterite militiamen will never be able to buy a car or a house for the rest of their lives, even if they all get suspended sentences. The ability to impose these kind of sanctions have never existed before in other revolutionary periods and can only exist in countries with inflated, post-industrial standards of living.

[Army of GOD]

what if aliens invade the US? Isn't that a reason everyone should own a gun too?

[nietzsche]

illegal aliens?

[Army of GOD]

illegal aliens?

I don't think the Queen has a green card.

Click image to enlarge.

[greenoaks]

Was the right to bear arms given to us by God too?

Just curious. Not trolling. I want to see your position here.

The right to protect oneself and one's property was, and the best way to protect that right is through personal arms. The founders recognized how little control people had over their personal protection when the British government confiscated munitions, so they made sure our government couldn't do it.

how come nations don't have the right to protect themselves? the USA is always trying to stop other nations from developing weapons they could use to defend themselves with.

[huamulan]

I think you mean 'stop other nations whom America doesn't like from developing weapons'. America is more than happy to supply Israel, or the former strongmen of Libya, Egypt etc., with all the weapons they want. It is perfectly reasonable to sell bullets that will end up inside a foreign child, just not bullets that might end up inside an American troop.

America is just one example, of course. Pretty much every country on the UN Security Council is guilty of supplying arms that are used to oppress civilian populations in the countries they don't care about (see my previous post).

[saxitoxin]

I think you mean 'stop other nations whom America doesn't like from developing weapons'. America is more than happy to supply Israel, or the former strongmen of Libya, Egypt etc., with all the weapons they want. It is perfectly reasonable to sell bullets that will end up inside a foreign child, just not bullets that might end up inside an American troop.

America is just one example, of course. Pretty much every country on the UN Security Council is guilty of supplying arms that are used to oppress civilian populations in the countries they don't care about (see my previous post).

Not just the UNSC but the whole of the west. Sweden is world's #2 arms exporter and their biggest client is the fat king of Saudi Arabia whose human rights record, even in Ban Ki Moon's most deluded torture fantasies about the Syrian Arab Republic, is a thousand times worse.

[Woodruff]

Was the right to bear arms given to us by God too?

Just curious. Not trolling. I want to see your position here.

The right to protect oneself and one's property was, and the best way to protect that right is through personal arms. The founders recognized how little control people had over their personal protection when the British government confiscated munitions, so they made sure our government couldn't do it.

how come nations don't have the right to protect themselves? the USA is always trying to stop other nations from developing weapons they could use to defend themselves with.

Obviously, they have a different God. Duh! Their God is sleeping at the wheel!

[thegreekdog]

I'm confused.

The OP and the poll question seems to indicate that greater restrictions should be placed by governments on individual citizens. The responses seem to indicate that greater restrictions should be placed by governments on governments.