There’s a common belief among gun rights folks that “The Second Protects the First.” In other words, the Second Amendment (the individual right to keep and bear arms) is the best guarantee that we have that our voices will continue to be heard. At the rally in Charlottesville over a week ago protesters clashed in violent hand to hand combat and one deranged individual drove their car into a crowd of people, but despite the hand wringing of professional gun control activists the group of armed protesters arrived, made their point, and left without firing a shot. Despite the fact that legally armed protesters have never been an issue at protests in the past, the mayor of Charlottesville wants the ability to revoke the Second Amendment. Just in case.
From the Washington Post:
Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer (above) called on the Virginia state legislature on Friday to convene a special session to push for new laws that would give local governments power to decide the fates of their Confederate war memorials.
Signer, a Democrat, also asked that localities be able to suspend some gun laws after his city was besieged by violence during a white nationalist rally last weekend.
The suspension of the right of people to defend themselves against criminals and attackers has never caused any issues. Wait, this just in, I am corrected — the suspension of the right to own weapons has prefaced events such as the rise of Nazis in Germany, the rise of communism in China, and countless other atrocities across time.
Especially in this instance the facts don’t support the demand for power. Guns were indeed present, but they did not result in any injuries or deaths. It was good old fashioned blunt force trauma that caused the injuries and the chaos. Removing the Second Amendment rights of citizens will do nothing to prevent violence and will instead merely make them more likely to be victims.
Ask the Koreans in Los Angeles if suspending the Second Amendment during times of strife is a good idea.