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Comment by smtddr | Hacker News Reader

I'm already at that point. If I start hearing about the general public going after corrupt law enforcement & government officials with lethal force... I will not condemn them.

I'll just be like "Well, they just kept pushing & squeezing on people; something had to give. It's just human nature. Maybe the populace has finally woken up."

BTW, as much as I am anti-firearm... the eventual uprising of the public against the government is the only reason I want the public to be well armed. I can count on all those pro-gun people to have a solid stockpile when the need arises. I actually think those in power know this too.

>>There is a saying that "A well-armed populace is the best defense against tyranny." --- http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Second_Amendment

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> I can count on all those pro-gun people to have a solid stockpile when the need arises. I actually think those in power know this too.

Unless the pro-gun people are stocking APCs, anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles and nuclear weapons, they are exactly zero good against the government when the need arises. We are long past the times when civilians could stand up to the armed forces.

European here....

I am very anti-firearm as well, and the only decent justification for them is that it gives more power to the people against the government in the event of some kind of revolution.

But as an outsider, it does seem that all your pro-gun people in the US seem like a bunch of right wing nutters. Certainly the vocal ones come across that way.

What are your opinions on this?

I definitely see them as mostly Republican/Conservatives, but because of them even democrats can always legally obtain guns. The USGov can never remove the right to bare arms, or the pro-gun people will flip out. So a semi-unknown number of guns remain in the public's possession preventing the USGov from ever trying to really take over. Best chance is for USGov to slowly erode privacy/rights as they're doing, but I think the NSA leaks have messed that up and put all kinds of people, even republicans, on guard. If a civil war actually happened, I think the pro-gun people are a wildcard that the USGov cannot depend on. I think they'll actually split up and a significant amount of them would side with democrats because of their desire to "protect the nation & what the USA flag stands for". With the NSA leaks, I think a lot of them feel like they've been fooled and are now just "pretending" to be republicans, but deep down inside they wouldn't defend the USGov in a civil war. I also think there are a bunch of military personnel who are "just following orders" for now but would defect in the event of a civil war too. Someone(s) just has to be the martyr to get the ball rolling.

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