Capitalism Institute

If there is just one lesson we are to learn from history, it is that an armed people are a free people, and that tyrants begin their rule by disarming their subjects. Gun control is the first step from citizenry to slavery. This is the unavoidable lesson of history.

Adolf Hitler disarmed the Jews. The communists disarmed the capitalists. The Redcoats tried to disarm the Americans. The Mexicans tried to disarm the Texans before the Alamo. The Persians tried to disarm the Spartans.

In each scenario, there were only two outcomes: the people resisted and stayed free, or the people turned in their arms and became slaves. This is not debatable or negotiable. This is historical fact. Disarmed people are just peasants.

The History: Disarmed People Are Subjects and Servants

Imagine what the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising would have done for the ability to have simply been well armed with rifles and handguns. Instead, they were forced to fight with a handful of guns and homemade weapons. Since the Jews were systematically disarmed in 1938, they were essentially powerless.

Around the same time as this disarmament, Hitler loosened gun laws for “Aryan” Germans. It’s not the guns that were the problem… it was who owned them. That’s why anyone who says “only police and military should own guns” is essentially ignoring history. If you want anyone to become a slave, just take away his ability to fight back or stop you — instant slavery.

The Jews weren’t the only ones systematically disarmed by the Nazis. In 1942, Adolf Hitler wrote:

“The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so. Indeed I would go so far as to say that the underdog is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty.”

This story repeats throughout history over and over. Tyranny requires the victims to be disarmed. Not necessarily everyone — just the victims. That’s why the Jews in Germany, the slaves in the Old South, and essentially all citizens in communist countries were disarmed. They were no longer free.

Fact: Armed Americans Retain Their Power

Americans will have the power so long as they continue to be well armed. The moment they turn in their guns, everything changes — they become slaves. This is because in a well armed society, the people have the power over government, and not the other way around. That’s why the Second Amendment was passed: “the security of a free state.”

Some believe that Americans could never defend themselves against the US federal government, regardless of how armed they were. This is generally the stuff repeated by people who have little-to-no understanding of guns, but like to act like they do. The people who say this, in my experience, are often the ones who have a superficial understanding of “cool” modern weapons, like drones. They also generally talk about “assault rifles” like they’re magical weapons — something anyone with experience knows is just silly.

Make no mistake: a revolution is absolutely still possible even in modern times. In Afghanistan, the US has been struggling for over a decade, and that’s in a remote country with almost no risk of US troops joining the enemy, little media coverage in favor of the “enemy”, and the ability to market any collateral damage as being “necessary”.

In a US insurrection, the opposite would likely occur. First, Americans are wealthier. Second, we’re likely far better armed than even the Afghans… anyone who disagrees just needs to get a few pro-gun friends and look at their collections. Third, many of the military troops would likely not fire on Americans and would likely even switch sides. If anything, a US insurrection would be far, far, far more likely to succeed than even the Afghanistan conflict — and that’s cost the US 10+ years and trillions in dollars.

Perhaps most importantly, the US Marines would likely join any insurrection — so long as there actually was one. I personally know many active-duty troops who would switch sides. Alone, they’re not enough to actually take over the military — but teamed up with an insurrection militia, then they would be a force to be reckoned with.

This doesn’t even account for the fact that entire regions would be almost entirely supportive of any insurgency, and that there are millions upon millions of patriotic vets with intense military experience. This isn’t some third-world country — this is America.

In the end, there are 400 million Americans, and tens of millions of liberty loving Americans who are armed to the teeth. Writing them off as people who would get stomped on is just stupid, ignores all of military history and even current conflicts the US government is currently engaged it.

But, it allows the militarily and gun ignorant to spout off, so I doubt the mockery of an armed people staying free will stop anytime soon. Regardless, the facts still exist, and they all point to one conclusion — people who stay armed, stay free.