In America we have a constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. No, the second amendment is not about militias. At least, not if you care what the Supreme Court had to say about it in  McDonald vs. Chicago in 2010.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion of that case, “It was clear that the framers counted the right of each citizen to keep and bear arms as being fundamental to our system of ordered liberty.” 

The second amendment is not about militias, hunting or even protecting ourselves from criminals. The second amendment is about defending ourselves against a corrupt tyrannical government.

Everyone from Thomas Jefferson to Ice-T agrees. Jefferson wrote that the beauty of the second amendment is that it won’t need to be used until they try to take it away. How true those words are. 

Imagine a world where only the government is allowed to own guns.  What would that world be like? Surely it would be safer, right? Because people in the government are highly trained super humans incapable of making mistakes. Right? 

Let’s take a look at New York City, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. Last week a crazy man brought his handgun to the Empire State Building. He shot one person. The police responded.  They shot nine people.

With all the talk of gun control in America after the shooting in Aurora, Colo., and the Sikh shooting in Wisconsin, this should serve as a glimpse into a world where only the police are allowed to carry guns.

 I’m not saying we should be angry at the police in this situation. I’m just saying that we should not have to depend on the police to save our lives in a dangerous situation.

The number one argument I hear from people is that police are trained to handle situations such as these and 99 percent of the time they go down with little to no collateral damage. But it’s that one percent I care about. 

Americans like to believe they live in a civilized country where people don’t need to carry a weapon.

I disagree.

The United States is made up of people, and people are inherently flawed, police included. Some people are just plain crazy.  And for those that call my one percent worry a straw man argument, it’s that one percent of crazy people that serve as the justification for strict gun control.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that our government is not some happy parent that would never do us wrong. It’s more like a nasty stepchild that has to be watched every second of every day.

Like the saying goes, “Democrats want the government to be their mother. Republicans want the government to be their father. Libertarians just want to be treated like adults.”

I just want to be treated like an adult. And as a consequence of that, I will treat everyone else like one too. 

I only ask that everyone look at the problems in this country that are “caused” by guns. Ask yourselves if these problems can really be fixed with more legislation as opposed to more liberty.

I don’t claim to have all the answers in the gun control debate. However, the idea that because something is illegal it will magically stop it from happening is a pipe dream to anyone who’s observed the colossal loss that is the War on Drugs.

But that is another story for another day.