OPINION: The Second Amendment Doesn’t Shrink Beneath The Threat Of F-15s And Nuclear Weapons

In his latest splurge of nonsensical gun control rhetoric, Joe Biden raised eyebrows on Wednesday when he repeated his claim that the Second Amendment always limited both who could own a weapon and the kinds of weapons available, and then appeared to threaten the gun owners by alluding to the U.S. military’s overwhelming firepower. 

“The Second Amendment, from the day it was passed, limited the type of people who could own a gun and what type of weapon you could own,” Biden said. “You couldn’t buy a cannon. [Those who] say the blood of the, the blood of patriots, you know, and all this stuff about how we’re going to have to move against the government.”

“Well, the tree of liberty is not [watered with] the blood of patriots, what’s happened is that there never been, if you want, if you think you need to have weapons to take on the government, you need F-15s and maybe some nuclear weapons,” Biden continued. “The point is that there’s always been the ability to limit, rationally limit, the type of weapon that can be owned, and who can own it.”

While critics were quick to point out that Biden’s narrative was inconsistent with the overwrought claims by Democrats that the U.S. Capitol building riot was an unprecedented assault on democracy, there is something of far deeper concern which must be acknowledged: Joe Biden does not understand the Second Amendment.

The president misses the multiple examples in history when lesser military forces have emerged victorious. One obvious example is the American War of Independence, spurring the Babylon Bee to post a satirical op-ed by King George III titled, “You’ll Never Beat A Tyrannical Government With Just Guns.”

However, there is a subtle but crucial point which many miss when they discuss the Second Amendment, and one which has links to the fundamental difference between the Left and Right when it comes to equality of opportunity versus equality of outcome.

Biden, and the Left more broadly, judge the validity of ownership of weapons as a protection from tyranny in a binary manner. The U.S. military is more powerful in terms of weaponry than the American populace, and (assuming the use of F-15s and nuclear weapons against private citizens is somehow moral) any military action on a national scale would likely result in a victory for the federal government, and defeat for those who oppose them. Therefore, in the mind of the Left, why would you need such weapons when you would lose anyway?

The answer is that, like those who took up arms in the face of the world’s greatest military might and fought — win or lose — for American independence, the right to self-defense in the face of tyranny makes no qualms about the risks that accompany such action.

Those who stood up to tyranny under the rule of the British crown did not do so because victory was guaranteed. Indeed, victory was extraordinarily unlikely, with numerous pivotal events providing a razor-thin path to the final objective.

Like those patriots, those who advocate for our right to stand up against tyranny do so with a valid disregard for the consequences of standing up against immorality. We believe that the Second Amendment is a written expression of our inalienable right to self-defense — of life, property, and liberty. This inalienable right doesn’t fade into insignificance under the shadow of those looking to take our lives, property or liberty just because they have a bigger stick than us.

For people like Joe Biden, the calculus of “equality of outcome” is applied to all, including our fundamental God-given rights.

That is why they will never understand those who fought and died to enshrine our right to keep and bear arms. That is why they will never understand us.

Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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