Gun control is not about mass shootings, it's about revolution

In Ireland we don't need to have a discussion about the ethics of assault weapons because our forebears figured this one out for us. When it's put that way you'll react with disgust, but it's the truth. <br><br>In the United States, the ability for the masses to arm themselves is enshrined as a constitutional right. And when you read the texts from the times its authorship becomes clear:<br><br>* "The Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the Press or the rights of conscience; or to prevent **the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms**; or to raise standing armies for offensive warfare at peace;" - George Mason<br>* "And that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the liberty of conscience, or the right of expressing it, or of peaceful assembly **or the right to keep and bear arms**; which are declared to be the **right of the people"** - Samuel Adams<br>* "that the people have **a right to bear arms** for the defence of themselves and their own state, or the United States, or for the purpose of killing game; and no law shall be passed for disarming the people or any of them, unless on a rebellion, or dangerous disturbance of the peace." - James Monroe<br><br>The authors are explicit about what its purpose is. You have a right to bear arms if you are a peaceful citizen, to defend yourself, your state or the United States. This was written in a time when putting a revolution to bed but was aware a civil war may be imminent.<br><br>But the third part is interesting, the right to bear arms to kill game. What does this mean, really? For most people hunting is a hobby but it was acknowledged as a means of access to protein, a means to feed yourself, to feed your family. The authors knew that the ability to hunt is a means of accessing a resource that would be available to everyone, a means to receive the basic necessities to live. The same is true of access to a fair court system, access to healthcare, access to a fair election and an educated populace.<br><br>Gun control is often spoken about as being about preventing mass shootings, but that's just not true. Why would it have been written that you have a right to defend yourself? If you look at the statistics, your average gun owner is not going to be able to defend themselves against an attacker with an assault rifle and body armour. The attacker has the advantage of above all planning, he will have scoped out his victims, he will have the element of surprise and he will have superior firepower. The people dead and injured? They are collateral damage, chaff in a larger game. Your average mass shooter has a death wish, he's suicidal and decides to go out with a bang, to go out in the most brutal fashion possible. He doesn't care about the toll his actions will have on the families left behind.<br><br>The people pushing to loosen gun control know this. They wouldn't push for it if their concern was really mass shootings. They don't care about the dead, or the injured, or the families that will never be the same. They don't care that your children need active shooter drills, they don't care that you need to think about where you run, where you hide, where you'll die when a shooter is on the rampage. It doesn't matter to them that you are afraid of being gunned down by some random fucked up individual. They don't care about how many are injured, or how many die. They don't care that you need to do these disgusting exercises to survive. <br><br>What they care about is what you'll do when you finally snap, when you finally realise you have nothing left to lose. When you've nothing to lose, you've everything to gain. When you've nothing to lose and you decide to rise up, you will face an armed and trained enemy. But the enemy will not only be armed, they will be better armed than you. They won't be nervous, they will be seasoned veterans who have seen it all before. They will be unafraid, they have seen other people like you rise up and lose before, and they know they will do it again and you will lose your revolution. The people pushing to loosen gun control know what's at stake, they know that if you're not allowed to access the basic means to acquire the necessities of life, you will eventually rise up. They know that if you have the means to defend yourself, you'll be enough of a threat to make them think twice about nearing that line in the sand.<br><br>The people pushing to loosen gun control are not concerned with mass shootings. They care about the ability of the masses to revolt against the state, to revolt against a system that is a system of oppression by design. They care about the ability of the masses to bear arms and stand up for what is rightfully theirs. They care that you have the means to stand up for yourself, and to fight back against oppression. <br><br>When you next hear someone arguing against stricter gun control laws, hear what they are saying. Hear their words and hear what's between the lines. What they are saying is the same as what the constitution says: that the masses should have the means of access to the basic necessities of life, and that if those means are not available, the masses have the right to take them.<br><br>&#x200B;