What The Riots Have Shown Us

This is a guest article by Will, the author of the blog www.genzconservative.com, who has written other articles for this blog, like The Violence of Antifa, Celebrating Memorial Day, The Gun Control Lobby is Lying, and The State of Free Speech on College Campuses. Search on this blog for these posts!

All American gun owners have, at some point, heard the refrain “why do you need an AR-15" from Fudds and leftists that cannot comprehend why a citizen might need a firearm that can fire more than a few shots. “Just buy a bolt-action hunting rifle,” they say. Perhaps their line of reasoning is more like “You’re a monster for owning that scary black rifle! How could you dare to own a gun responsible for the deaths of so many children?”

Of course, we that understand the “shall not be infringed” part of the 2^nd Amendment know that those arguments are ridiculous. There is no reason that you must prove you “need” a certain firearm. The 2^nd Amendment is there to preserve our God-given right to own whatever we please. And, of course, guns do not commit violent crimes or mass shootings. Violent criminals do. While I agree with both of those lines of reasoning, I think that the recent riots have given us AR-15 owners one more way by which we can defend our right to defend those “scary black rifles;” AR-15s are what we need to defend ourselves from violent mobs.

Who has not seen the videos of anarchy, intimidation, and violence around the nation as of late? Violent criminals smash shop windows, loot and burn stores, march around in all-black uniforms to intimidate law-abiding citizens, and, worst of all, violently attack and try to kill innocent bystanders and shop owners. Citizens have been dragged from their cars and beaten, shop owners have been intimidated, beaten, and killed, and bystanders and journalists have been attacked by vicious mobs. While all of that has happened in riots before, these recent riots are the worst in recent memory and are far more widespread than any others.

What have they shown Americans, beside the fact that many of their fellow citizens are willing to act like violent thugs when given the ability to do so? That there is one definite reason you “need” a weapon like an AR-15: to defend yourself from a violent mob.

If you were a shop owner under attack by dozens of looters, what would you want to defend yourself? A Remington 700, the epitome of the “hunting rifle” that Fudds and leftists have temporarily deemed “acceptable” for us to own? No, of course not. You would want an AR-15 with as large of a magazine as possible. If you were an innocent motorist surrounded by a vicious mob that is banging on and rocking your car, a situation many Americans have found themselves in recently, what would you want to have to defend yourself with? A Colt SAA revolver? No, you would want a bit more firepower. The Peacemaker is great and a beautiful firearm, but to fight off a crowd that large you need more than a six-shooter.

The lesson of all this is that the police will not defend you if the mob attacks. When it really counts, you will be outnumbered and the police will be preoccupied, if they have not already been defunded. Because of that, you “need” an AR-15. It is the only weapon that evens the odds against a vicious, violent mob.

Americans are starting to recognize that. It is why Americans are buying more guns than ever, most of which are semi-automatic handguns or those “scary black rifles” that leftists and Fudds hate. Furthermore, this national unrest has shown the purpose of the 2^nd Amendment; it was not designed to protect your right to own a hunting rifle. It was meant to protect your right to own the weapons with which you can effectively defend yourself from a tyrannical government or a violent criminal.

Gun control had been gaining steam before these riots. Politicians on both the right and left were attacking our right to own AR-15s, which are protected by the 2^nd Amendment, because they said that those firearms had been used in mass shootings and were, therefore, unacceptable. That line of reasoning is ridiculous. It always has been because it places the blame on guns and law-abiding citizens rather than the violent criminals that commit horrific crimes. But, in any case, it is now even more ridiculous because increased gun control would mean that Americans could not defend themselves from violent mobs and the criminals that are freely roaming around and terrorizing our cities. Mobs have terrorized our cities and the citizens of them for months now. Law-abiding citizens are under siege. Now, hopefully, a broader swathe of Americans can see why they should own AR-15s and why their fellow citizens should be able to.

I’ve never been one to think that you should need to prove your “need” to own anything, and I certainly don’t think that you should have to show your “need” for a specific firearm, as the 2^nd Amendment protects our right to do so. But, if there were ever a time when that “need” was obvious, it would be now. The McKloskey’s are proof of that; without their AR-15, they might well have been killed or had their home looted by the mob. Or even the pregnant Florida mother, who used her AR-15 to protect her family after looters targeted and broke into her house. Be like them. Be prepared to defend yourself.

Check out my guest post on his blog, The Crucical Commutation of Roger Stone.