From all the studying I’ve done on the issue, it seems to me that the spirit and purpose behind the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution was to preserve weapons parity between “the people” and “the government” in order to prevent tyranny. It doesn’t matter that the weapons back then were less powerful or sophisticated than the weapons we have today. If “the government” has a certain kind of weapon, “the people” must have it also. 2nd Amendment aside, its both a fact of history and a matter of common sense that one party with greater power will run roughshod over the weaker one. We see this every day, from the playground bully to the abusive parent to the petty bureaucrat to the totalitarian dictator. Weapons parity is the only antidote to the disparity in respect for the autonomy and property of others. And that’s today’s two cents.
On the 2nd Amendment
Written by Skyler J. Collins (Editor)
Founder and editor of Everything-Voluntary.com and UnschoolingDads.com, Skyler is a husband and unschooling father of three beautiful children. His writings include the column series “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective” and “One Improved Unit,” and blog series “Two Cents“. Skyler also wrote the books No Hitting! and Toward a Free Society, and edited the books Everything Voluntary and Unschooling Dads. You can hear Skyler chatting away on his podcasts, Everything Voluntary and Thinking & Doing.