Ballistic Magazine
  • Guns
    • Handguns
    • Rifles
    • Class III & More
  • Gear
    • Accessories
    • Ammo
    • Knives
    • Suppressors
  • News
  • Lifestyle
    • Culture
    • People
    • Podcasts
    • Rides
    • Survival
    • Tactics & Training
  • VIDEOS
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Ballistic Magazine
  • Guns
    • Handguns
    • Rifles
    • Class III & More
  • Gear
    • Accessories
    • Ammo
    • Knives
    • Suppressors
  • News
  • Lifestyle
    • Culture
    • People
    • Podcasts
    • Rides
    • Survival
    • Tactics & Training
  • VIDEOS
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Ballistic Magazine
No Result
View All Result
 
New Year, New FREE GUN FRIDAY! Enter to WIN the Smith & Wesson and Black Hills package.

What if the People of Ukraine Had a Legit Second Amendment?

Will Dabbs MD by Will Dabbs MD
February 25, 2022
in Culture, Lifestyle
0
A rifleman exercising the Second Amendment.
0
SHARES
71
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

As I sit here typing these words it has been less than 24 hours since Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine proper. Early reports indicate that the Ukrainians indeed figured out how to use those Javelin anti-tank missiles we gifted them. The Russians are making good progress. They do have one of the most advanced combined arms armies on the planet after all. But the Ukrainians are making them earn it.

competition shooters train to fight in the Ukraine.
RELATED STORY

Ukraine Multi-Gun Shooters, Civilians Train Up to Fight the Russians

What If: A Ukraine Second Amendment

Thirty-six hours ago there were a lot of rules governing privately owned weapons in Ukraine. You had to be 21 to buy a shotgun and 25 to own a rifle. The Ukrainian government required a background check, mental exam, government fee, and installing and certifying a gun safe according to government regulations for gun purchases. The process took from one to several months and was intentionally onerous. There was no provision for Ukrainians to own handguns.

Interestingly, for those willing to clear the administrative hurdles, there were some cool guns on the menu. In fact, given the lack of evil features dicta and magazine restrictions, Ukrainians still had more firearms freedom than Americans living in places like California and New York. Semi-auto M4’s, AK’s, Tavors, AUGs, Kriss Vectors, and more were available at a price. But the average Ukrainian income comes in around $845, making scraping up $1,200 for a Modern Sporting Rifle, with all the artificial government-mandated impediments, dissuading for most would-be gun owners. However, Thursday morning something amazing happened.

Barbarians at the Gate

When faced with the existential threat of the Red Army rolling unfettered across the countryside, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted the following, “We will give weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country. Be ready to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities.” Those on the ground report massive lines of civilians queuing up to draw Kalashnikovs with which to defend their homes. This leads us to an interesting place.

It has been said you can’t stop tanks with a rifle, and that’s true. However, once you’ve seized a country by force there is absolutely no way you can hold it when everybody is armed. It just can’t be done. The Germans tried it in Europe in WW2. The Soviets and Americans tried and failed in Afghanistan. If the civilians have guns and they don’t like you, they become ungovernable.

Meanwhile in America

Guns and gun control are forever in the news over here. The American mainstream media tacitly vilifies civilian gun owners, lumping those of us who own black rifles into the same sordid group that contains militant white supremacists and lunatic mass murderers. Despite the fact that literally a thousand times as many Americans are killed every year by cigarettes than AR-15’s, I have to listen to this bilge spouted by the talking heads screaming that I’m the problem. Well, I’ll be honest, I’m sick of hearing it.

We Americans unashamedly own 440 million firearms. Leftists whine and moan about that all the time. Allow me to put that in perspective for you. We American civilians possess fully twenty times as many guns as there are soldiers under arms in every army in the world.

If each of those 440 million guns was a typical 8-inch Glock pistol and you stacked them butt to muzzle they would circle the globe twice and still have another 23 million left over. There will never be a circumstance wherein an American President need open the National Guard armories at the 11th hour in a desperate attempt to arm the public and stave off invasion. We already have plenty of guns, thank you very much. In my experience we are also fairly adroit in their use.

Crime and Punishment

Sordid tales of criminals and their guns pervasively populate the American news cycle. To hear them say it, innocent folks are getting shot in America all the time. Maybe in some places, but not where I live.

The folks getting gunned down typically live in liberal utopias where, just like the Ukraine, local and state governments have effectively dissuaded law-abiding citizens from owning and carrying firearms. Down here in the Deep South where I live everybody, and I do mean everybody, has guns and we really don’t have any crime. The stats are skewed by the cities where the Leftists rule, but out in the rural spaces we’re doing great. Thanks for asking.

Ruminations

Relative combat power makes for a great graphic on the newsfeed. The Russians started out their invasion with four times as many tanks as did Ukraine. They have more than twice as many Infantry Fighting Vehicles and sixteen times as many attack helicopters. Russian strike aircraft outnumber Ukrainian fifteen to one. And none of that matters one whit in the grand scheme if the general population is armed.

One of the biggest reasons the United States has done so well these last two centuries is those two blessedly massive bodies of water that separate us from the rest of the planet. The Canadians and the Mexicans harbor precious few imperial aspirations, so we are left to our own devices to fret about such critical stuff as preferred pronouns and gender identity. However, the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is about way deeper stuff than hunting and target shooting. The Second Amendment is the ultimate universal insurance policy. The founding fathers, in their inimitable wisdom, knew that when they drafted it.

An Armed Society

Robert Heinlein once wrote, “An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.” I may have to take umbrage with my absolute favorite science fiction author. I would assert that an armed society is actually an invincible society.

The Ukrainians are fighting for their very lives. They are dying for their children, their homes, and their national identity. Americans will never have to do that. That’s because we are so shamelessly dangerous that no enemies foreign or domestic would ever dare cross us. Who thinks Putin would have even considered invading Ukraine if Ukrainians owned guns like Mississippians owned guns? To those on the Left who still think peaceful law-abiding American gun owners are the problem, you’re welcome.

Didn't find what you were looking for?

CLICK HERE FOR COMMENTS

RELATED POSTS

Anna Paulina Luna Ballistic Magazine Cover Shoot

America’s New Face of Freedom, Anna Paulina Luna

The Remington and Ukraine T-shirt benefit the fight.

Remington, Federal Ukraine T-Shirts Benefit Crisis Relief

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy starred in Servant of the People.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Pop Culture Star Turned Defender of Ukraine

You too can fight the Russians in Ukraine.

Want to Fight the Russians in Ukraine? Here’s How

Load More

WATCH NOW: Night Shooter | Season 2

Discussion about this post

FEATURED POST

Ballistic's Best Reader's Choice Winners

Winners Announced: Ballistic’s Best Readers’ Choice 2022

The votes are in! We've counted the ballots, and we're excited and impressed by you, the...

Read more

TRENDING

7 new products announced ahead of shot show 2023.

New Guns & Gear Launched at SHOT Show 2023

We tested 12 compact and micro compact pistols to determine the best carry gun.

Best Concealed Carry Pistols 2022: Compacts & Micros Dominate

A top-quality chassis gives you adjustability and other features you need to make your long-range shooting more accurate and fun. These 7 top rifle chassis do it with class.

7 Top Rifle Chassis That Add Class & Accuracy to Your Long-Range Shoot

Affordable Precision Rifles 2018

19 Affordable Precision Rifles That Won’t Break the Bank

PICK A CATEGORY

TRAINING & TACTICS SPOTLIGHT

gi joe

Happy G.I. Joe Day!

Ballistic Celebrates Our Favorite Action Figure As far as we're concerned, there's only one holiday in February worth going ape...

SHOWCASE: TRAINING AND TACTICS

Clearing Corners Gunsite Academy lead

10 Key Tips to Clearing Corners That May Save Your Ass

Chris Hemsworth learns box breathing and other challenges in Limitless.

Use Box Breathing Like Chris Hemsworth to Calm Down & Make The Shot

zeroing in rifles and pistols

Zeroing Rifles & Pistols: Getting to & Maintaining Zeroed Sights

European Mount, DIY Euro Mount, Hunting, lead

How to Make a European Mount in 6 Steps

Team SIG Sauer's Lena Miculek fires a P365 and debates .380 vs 9mm.

VIDEO: SIG Sauer’s Lena Miculek Debates .380 Vs 9mm for Defense

Cross-Eye Dominant Shooting, pistol

The Guide to Cross-Eye Dominant Shooting

Follow this guide to better shooting on the move.

SHOOTING 101: 3 Keys to Getting Hits While Shooting on the Move

Understanding eye dominance and both eyes open shooting will help you get on target.

VIDEO: Understanding Eye Dominance for Better Accuracy & Speed

AMMO SPOTLIGHT

Hornady Subsonic 7.62x39 launches a 255-grain bullet.

Hornady Subsonic 7.62×39 Ammunition Launches 255-grain Bullet, Quietly!

Hornady just announced the release of a very interesting new load, one we think hunters will jump all over....

site logo
The Premier Firearms & Survival Magazine

Tactical

  • tactical-life.com

Magazines

  • Tactical Life
  • The Complete Book of Reloading
  • Guns of the Old West

Facebook

  • Tactical-Life Facebook
  • Guns of the Old West Facebook

Twitter

  • Tactical-Life Twitter

Self Defense

  • PersonalDefenseWorld.com

Magazines

  • Personal Defense World
  • Combat Handguns

Facebook

  • Personal Defense World Facebook
  • Combat Handguns

Twitter

  • Personal Defense World Twitter

Shooting Lifestyle

  • BallisticMag.com

Magazines

  • Ballistic Magazine

Facebook

  • Ballistic Magazine Facebook

Twitter

  • Ballistic Magazine Twitter

Alpha Lifestyle

  • SkillsetMag.com

Magazines

  • Skillset

Facebook

  • Skillset Magazine Facebook

Twitter

  • Skillset Magazine Twitter

Instagram

  • Skillset Magazine Instagram
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Terms Of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • California Privacy Notice
  • Cookie Policy
© Athlon Outdoors, All Rights Reserved.
You use of this website constitutes and manifests your acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and awareness of the California Privacy Rights. Pursuant to U.S. Copyright law, as well as other applicable federal and state laws, the content on this website may not be reproduced, distributed, displayed, transmitted, cached, or otherwise used, without the prior, express, and written permission of Athlon Outdoors.

Manage your GDPR consents by clicking here. Manage your CCPA consents by clicking here.
No Result
View All Result
  • Guns
    • View All Guns
    • Handguns
    • Rifles
    • Class III & More
    • Sponsored
      • SIG Sauer
  • Gear
    • View All Gear
    • Accessories
    • Ammo
    • Knives
    • Suppressors
  • Videos
  • More
    • Free Gun Friday Sweeps
    • Sweepstakes
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
  • News
  • Lifestyle
    • View All Lifestyle
    • Tactics & Training
    • Survival
    • People
    • Podcasts
    • Rides

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.