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Guns, Knives, Body Armor, it doesn’t matter - The Second Amendment is not a right: it is a reminder.
Weak times create weak men - and boy, are these some weak times.
Several years ago, my wife and I took a trip to Washington D.C. to tour the national monuments. One of the highlights of this trip was visiting the National Archives Museum, housing many of the famous and foundational documents penned at the birth of our country. Amidst the sightseeing, fascinating information and Nicholas Cage jokes, I approached the Bill of Rights. As I gazed down at the parchment, an individual next to me turned and said one of the most ironic things I had ever heard:
“Yeah, that’s where we get the stupid Second Amendment from.”
He then walked away, leaving me equally dumbfounded and amused.
If he had allowed a response, I imagine it would have been something along the lines of, “Yes, how stupid of our Founding Fathers to think a nation’s government could ever become tyrannical in the future. That never happens. Definitely a monumental mistake on their part letting the people keep the government in check.”
I imagine the sarcasm would’ve been lost on this individual, however.
250 years after the bloody and pivotal birth of the United States of America, our very right to maintain freedom from tyranny is questioned and ridiculed at every step by those disillusioned by so-called “government safety”. Does the Second Amendment guarantee our right as individuals to own guns? Which guns? Muskets? Since the Founding Fathers could not have imagined the possibilities of modern weaponry, do the rules even apply anymore? And where does body armor fit into all of this?
Buckle up, friends.
“Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.” — Douglas MacArthur
Critical to understanding whether or not body armor is protected by the Second Amendment is understanding the nature of the amendment itself. In our opinion, this should be common knowledge anyway. So, why was the Second Amendment written? And why does it matter?
When the Bill of Rights was initially drafted, there were about 20 amendments included. These were eventually boiled down to 10, including the Second Amendment we now know and love. Many historians believe the creation of the Second Amendment was to negate the need for a standing army - a twofold purpose, keeping the power in the hands of the people, and preventing the ruling class from utilizing said standing army to forcefully seize liberty from the people. Largely born from constant debates of the time between state and federal rights, the amendment was ultimately created to prevent the need for another American Revolution from happening.
As time went on, courts would later interpret the Second Amendment to specifically include an individual’s right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their property, and their freedom (see “District of Columbia v. Heller” for more on this). This clarification did not become legal precedent until 2008.
There remain numerous interpretations of the Second Amendment today. Many of these come from a genuine desire to know the true meaning behind it, and many come from corrupt opportunists with an interest in seizing power, or denying it to others. It is no secret that most Founding Fathers were extremely pro-gun; they’d have to be. Can you imagine the Continental Army asking permission from the British to utilize their own weapons against them? One generally does not ask the system they are fighting against to supply them with firepower.
And there is a reason the Second Amendment was left as brief as it was.
Despite Joe Biden and his obsession with gun control wanting you to believe otherwise - you could very much own a cannon at the time of the American Revolution. You could also own a musket… or ten muskets. Hell, you could privately own a warship if you wanted (yes, privately-owned warships were used in the American Revolution by both sides). And obviously, if you possessed body armor or some other means of bulletproof protection, no one questioned your ability to own and utilize it.
And let me just say: A U.S. President threatening the people with F-15’s (talk about cruel and unusual) is exactly why the Second Amendment exists - and frankly, why “weapons of war” deserve to be considered constitutionally protected arms. Even so, do not let such threats dissuade you from believing the government could just “clean house” whenever it wants. I think the Taliban, the Viet Cong, or even the Continental Army would have plenty to say about fighting and ultimately prevailing against overwhelming force. We may have some corrupt officials at the head, but they are not about to start carpet bombing American neighborhoods.
Technology changes; rights do not.
Why is this important? Because many proponents of gun control claim that since the Founding Fathers could never have foreseen the evolution of modern weaponry, such weapons do not apply to the rules and must be banned from public access - since they are so extraordinarily “out of scope” compared to what was around in the late 1700’s. But the Founding Fathers absolutely understood the principle of evolutionary war tactics and weapons, even without understanding modern firepower. They knew that war, strategy, and weaponry have evolved constantly since the dawn of man; and they surely knew that they would continue to; which is exactly why these ideals were irrelevant to the creation of the Second Amendment.
Think about it - the concept of iPhones would be life-changing, even earth-shattering to the colonists. The ability to create and spread false information to the entire world with one swipe of a finger surely would have made them think twice about the First Amendment… right?
Again, the answer is no - because it is not about the evolution of technology. It is about the security of a free state; keeping individual freedom in the hands of the individual, and most importantly, keeping the establishment the hell out of it. Any doubts of the Founding Fathers’ intentions here should be swept aside by the simple fact that the Whiskey Rebellion did not result in the mass confiscation of firearms. They had the easiest opportunity - but did not take it.
Firearms aside, does the 2nd Amendment give me the right to own body armor and protect myself from bullets, too?
No. Being human is what gives you that right.
As much as we all love and worship the good ol’ 2A, we need to remember that it, in and of itself, is not the God-given stone tablet providing us with our inherent right to keep and bear arms - or protect ourselves from them. The Amendment is merely words, written by imperfect men who understood the need to keep tyrannical desires in check.
The Second Amendment is nothing more than a reminder - a reminder that the right to bear arms was NEVER the government’s to give in the first place. A reminder that these rights were bestowed upon you when you were born, and that as a human being, regardless of your moral code, you have the objective right to protect yourself - however necessary - from those who would seek to control your individual freedom. And yes, that includes bulletproof protection.
In other words, you do not have these rights because the government said so. You have these rights because you are a human being. “Gun control” is irrelevant.
The Bill of Rights is not a message to the people - it is a warning to the system.
I understand there are those who will disagree with the specifics here, and that is completely fine. But in answering the question of body armor’s relevance to the Second Amendment, consider this: Do you really believe that a constitutional amendment would bestow you with the right to own a firearm, but not the right to protect yourself from one?
“Freedom isn’t free” does not exclusively apply to the sacrifices made by those who have died on foreign and domestic battlefields preserving our freedom. It applies to you and me, and everyone around us. You see, freedom isn’t free for a much deeper reason: that is, because freedom is responsibility - responsibility that many people are not very… well, responsible with; but still deserve nonetheless. While I am protected to say what I’d like, I have the personal responsibility not to use that right to incite needless fear, panic, and terror in my community. While I am protected to own a firearm (or body armor), I have the personal responsibility to utilize these tools for the protection of that which is good - and to eradicate evil that would seek to take my freedoms away.
Make no mistake - today’s “leaders” may be miles apart from the Founding Fathers in just about every way, but they perfectly understand the purpose of the Second Amendment as it was written. And that is all the more reason to be distrustful of them and their promises of “saving lives” and whatnot..
Here’s a hint: the purpose is not about “saving lives” or whatever BS they try to tell you these days.
It is about control. Not gun control, but people control.
Control the press, control the minds. Control the guns, control the bodies. That is why they are First and Second. Not third and fourth, or eighth or tenth or anything else. There is no such thing as gun control; there is only people control - those who believe only the government should have guns, and those who do not.
Why is body armor being banned today?
Fast forward to the modern age: State X or Y has called for the ban of body armor because some horrible human being decided to abuse their right to keep and bear arms, and did so while wearing a bulletproof vest which allegedly made it more difficult for the police to do their job. Because of that individual’s actions, you and I clearly do not deserve to own a bulletproof vest either - even though we have no intention of committing such atrocious acts ourselves. Because… Well, reasons. But the government, oh man, we all know they are completely trustworthy of being the only ones allowed to have bulletproof protection, and firearms. Surely we can all exclusively rely on them for safety.
Sarcasm aside, you should probably know that even the government itself has legally admitted that it doesn’t have to keep you safe. 1989, DeShaney v. Winnebago County. Per a Supreme Court order, police have no lawful duty to respond to or protect citizens from crime - only to enforce law.
Feel safe now?
Maybe we should make it so only the government owns cars then then too, right? Seeing how many people die every day in traffic accidents, We the People clearly cannot be trusted with them. Since so many people die from heart disease, should only the government be allowed to eat Big Macs, too?
Hopefully you see how flawed the logic here is - and again, how it is not even remotely about “saving lives” to the cowards in office. It is about control. Any individual who believes the government deserves to possess any specific right, while the people are denied that right, is either a fool or an aspiring tyrant-to-be.
Let us state the reality, loud and clear: The government does NOT have the right to tell you that you aren’t allowed to protect yourself from bullets. There is absolutely no legitimate reason an individual should be fined or jailed for putting a piece of Kevlar or AR500 or any other material between themselves and someone wanting to kill them, to prevent that from happening. Anyone interested in enforcing these immoral and unconstitutional rules is, without a doubt, attempting to seize additional control and rights that are NOT theirs, in order to weaken the people.
BE bulletproof. It is your natural right.
You can take action, legally and lawfully, right now.
Do not let these cowards, who hide behind weapons and walls and bulletproof vests themselves, tell you that you do not deserve to protect yourself or your freedoms. Do not let these people corrupt the idea of what it means to be an American, or trample under those who built the foundation for individual freedom and liberty within this country.
Remember that there are ways you can (and should) take action today:
Contact your local and state representatives. Remind them to fight for YOU, not their tenure or paycheck. Try and do it nicely, if you can - they tend to listen more that way.
Support those leading the charge. There are well-organized, intelligently-led groups out there actively fighting against corruption and tyranny in courts. Some of our favorites are Firearms Policy Coalition, Gun Owners of America, and Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition. We like these groups because they are not afraid to fight, sue, and take action, and are not pressured or influenced by the agendas of political parties.
Ignore unconstitutional laws. Remember what it means to be an American. You have an obligation, as an American Citizen, to disobey or ignore any laws and regulations which directly restrict your rights to individual freedom. The government cannot restrict that which was not theirs to give in the first place.
After all, it’s easy to forget that body armor and firearms both share an identical statistic:
Neither has ever killed someone.