This is my best argument for the 2A and I have succesfully changed minds with it. There is no greater pleasure than seeing the light come on in an anti's mind. It is my hope that it will help someone else do the same.
This argument usually comes up 1. when talking to an anti who says, “I don’t mind people having a gun to go hunting or something, but that’s the only reason I can see to justify owning a gun, or 2. a comment such as this one that I copied from a Fox News thread:
"If I were president, I would immediately institute stringent gun control laws. The right to bear arms, while guaranteed by the Constitution, is no longer necessary in modern society. Civilians should not be allowed to own firearms unless there are special circumstances and they undergo mandatory psychiatric evaluations every two years. Our children deserve better, more secure lives. It is pathetic that any loser with a firearm can make himself infamous in seconds."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,217322,00.html
With the 1st position I begin with part 1, and for the latter I begin with part two:
Part 1: Question. What were the founding fathers doing at the time of the revolution, leading up to the drafting of our constitution? (Quote Declaration of Ind. People’s right and duty line, you know the one)
Answer: Citizens were using their personally owned firearms to work side by side with the beginnings of the US Army to fend off the tyranny of the English King. It is in this context that the second amendment was drafted. The 2A has nothing to do with owning a deer rifle or shooting ducks, it’s about having the means to defend one's self and to fend off government tyranny, period.
Usual liberal reply: Yeah but we don’t need to fight off our government, we have free speech and we can vote. We don’t need guns to remain free.
Next question: Even if you don’t believe what I have already said, let me ask you if we currently are able to own guns in this country.
Liberal reply: Yeah.
Now they are open and listening so I proceed with the following:
Part II: As an American, you are fortunate enough to be born into a country were you can be free from tyranny. You are guaranteed certain rights handed down to you from previous generations, and it is each and every citizen’s DUTY to ensure that those rights remain in place for future generations. You are correct that I don’t need my guns, at present, to fend off tyranny. But that is no reason why I should forfeit that right for my unborn grandchildren and for their heirs.
Throughout history, one despot after another has enslaved people on every continent on this planet. How is it that you are so filled with hubris as to not consider the lasting effect of the right that you forfeit today on your grandchildren’s children? How can you be so certain that another Hitler will not rise to power in this nation and throw your grandbabies into an oven one day? How would you like to be remembered as a member of the generation that is responsible for taking away their ability to resist such evil by giving up the rights that you were fortunate enough to be born with? That’s what the 2A is really about. That’s what freedom is really about. That’s what being an American is about. Therefore: if you don’t want to own a gun, fine, but don’t’ give away your right to, don’t’ give away my right to, and for God’s sake don’t give away the right of your great great grandchildren, because if you do they may curse you for it one day, as they are helplessly marched to their death.
This argument usually comes up 1. when talking to an anti who says, “I don’t mind people having a gun to go hunting or something, but that’s the only reason I can see to justify owning a gun, or 2. a comment such as this one that I copied from a Fox News thread:
"If I were president, I would immediately institute stringent gun control laws. The right to bear arms, while guaranteed by the Constitution, is no longer necessary in modern society. Civilians should not be allowed to own firearms unless there are special circumstances and they undergo mandatory psychiatric evaluations every two years. Our children deserve better, more secure lives. It is pathetic that any loser with a firearm can make himself infamous in seconds."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,217322,00.html
With the 1st position I begin with part 1, and for the latter I begin with part two:
Part 1: Question. What were the founding fathers doing at the time of the revolution, leading up to the drafting of our constitution? (Quote Declaration of Ind. People’s right and duty line, you know the one)
Answer: Citizens were using their personally owned firearms to work side by side with the beginnings of the US Army to fend off the tyranny of the English King. It is in this context that the second amendment was drafted. The 2A has nothing to do with owning a deer rifle or shooting ducks, it’s about having the means to defend one's self and to fend off government tyranny, period.
Usual liberal reply: Yeah but we don’t need to fight off our government, we have free speech and we can vote. We don’t need guns to remain free.
Next question: Even if you don’t believe what I have already said, let me ask you if we currently are able to own guns in this country.
Liberal reply: Yeah.
Now they are open and listening so I proceed with the following:
Part II: As an American, you are fortunate enough to be born into a country were you can be free from tyranny. You are guaranteed certain rights handed down to you from previous generations, and it is each and every citizen’s DUTY to ensure that those rights remain in place for future generations. You are correct that I don’t need my guns, at present, to fend off tyranny. But that is no reason why I should forfeit that right for my unborn grandchildren and for their heirs.
Throughout history, one despot after another has enslaved people on every continent on this planet. How is it that you are so filled with hubris as to not consider the lasting effect of the right that you forfeit today on your grandchildren’s children? How can you be so certain that another Hitler will not rise to power in this nation and throw your grandbabies into an oven one day? How would you like to be remembered as a member of the generation that is responsible for taking away their ability to resist such evil by giving up the rights that you were fortunate enough to be born with? That’s what the 2A is really about. That’s what freedom is really about. That’s what being an American is about. Therefore: if you don’t want to own a gun, fine, but don’t’ give away your right to, don’t’ give away my right to, and for God’s sake don’t give away the right of your great great grandchildren, because if you do they may curse you for it one day, as they are helplessly marched to their death.