What really protects the 2d Amendment?

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Think strategically. In the end, this is a battle for "hearts and minds."
Yes.

As already ruled for other amendments like First Amendment applying to modern forms of communication, I believe it's time for SCOTUS to rule on modern types of arms (And recent cases already called magazines "arms" deserving 2A protection).

When CA failed to justify how they arrived at 10 round limit, Judge Benitez ruled CA's approach arbitrary and eloquently called the time between magazine change "lethal pause" where a mother or grandmother defending their and family lives could face death because they were limited by magazine capacity. This will tug at the "hearts and minds" of We the People, not simply demanding that antis keep their dirty hands off our toys.

To me, as our founders foresaw, we now have another test of separation of powers where the judicial branch is to balance out the writing and passing of unconstitutional laws by legislative and executive branches. This separation of powers have worked before and will work again, as destined by our founders.

In the meantime, we must remain civil and diligently support those foundations mounting legal challenges to bring these cases to the Supreme Court.
 
The perseverance of patriots who still think the preservation of the US constitution is important.
We're looking for "how" instead of "what". The will to persevere is vital, but how we go about it is what we're discussing.
The antis already showed us "how".
  • Financially support politicians and causes
  • Financially support foundations that support your beliefs and engage legal challenges
  • Actively spread the word to others to do the same so law makers and mayors/governors/presidents can be voted into offices to write/pass ordinances/laws/regulations that support your beliefs and appoint judges that will rule the same.
  • Intervene on the education process of the next generation of your beliefs (Get involved in school boards and voice your beliefs to school district leadership)
  • Support free speech/First Amendment and actively propagate your beliefs (Positively posting on THR is doing that)
  • Be courteous to others who share your beliefs (Arguing on THR is NOT doing that)
  • Teach future generations and various segments of society the benefits of gun ownership (Take them out shooting and teach them to reload ... Be willing to spend some money on ammunition for this cause)
  • Be friendly, approachable, generous to everyone to invoke positive image of gun owners
  • Repeat decades after decades
 
We're looking for "how" instead of "what". The will to persevere is vital, but how we go about it is what we're discussing.
Sam Houston didn't win Texas Independence by rushing blindly into battle. He guilefully avoided decisive battle until the situation was most favorable to him and then he crushed the numerically superior forces of Santa Ana. He waited until the time and place of the decisive battle was right and then brought all of his forces down upon the enemy. He made Santa Ana fight his fight, he didn't fight Santa Ana's fight and he won. I think we've scored a lot of victories over the past 30 years and some were pretty huge (Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barret, McDonald, Heller). The time and place of the decisive battle is close I think and I think we're going to win but there's no reason to rush into battle just yet. Our final battlefield could be more favorable. So how do we protect the 2A? We just keep doing exactly what we have been doing for a little while longer because it's working.
 
The magazine capacity is really a moot point during the Revolutionary War a foot soldier was equipped with a "magazine" containing 18 paper cartridges for his musket. Hey firearms of a soldier today are normally 20 rounds yes there really hasn't been a big change in over 200 years other than the fact rifles today are self loading.
 
Sam Houston didn't win Texas Independence by rushing blindly into battle. He guilefully avoided decisive battle until the situation was most favorable to him and then he crushed the numerically superior forces of Santa Ana. He waited until the time and place of the decisive battle was right and then brought all of his forces down upon the enemy. He made Santa Ana fight his fight, he didn't fight Santa Ana's fight and he won. I think we've scored a lot of victories over the past 30 years and some were pretty huge (Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barret, McDonald, Heller). The time and place of the decisive battle is close I think and I think we're going to win but there's no reason to rush into battle just yet. Our final battlefield could be more favorable. So how do we protect the 2A? We just keep doing exactly what we have been doing for a little while longer because it's working.

Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barret were not victories. They were lost opportunities. We had the unprecedented option to replace 1/3 of the court in only a 4 year term, and squandered it by appointing weak justices that I don't trust to uphold the 2A or anything else for that matter.
 
Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barret were not victories. They were lost opportunities. We had the unprecedented option to replace 1/3 of the court in only a 4 year term, and squandered it by appointing weak justices that I don't trust to uphold the 2A or anything else for that matter.
Had Hillary won in 2016, she would have appointed full anti-2A justices and we all would be crying about now.

Yes, we dodged a bullet size of a planet with Gorsuch/Kavanaugh/Barrett appointments.

BTW, have you read Kavanaugh's dissent for Heller 2 where he stated modern magazine fed semi-auto rifles like AR15 is protected by the Second Amendment? https://wvcdl.org/kavanaugh.pdf

Now that judge Kavanaugh is a Supreme Court Justice, I am certain he will apply his Heller 2 dissent fully on the next gun rights case Supreme Court hears as payback. And Barrett stated to expand 2A protection in her dissent. In my book, any judge who wants to expand 2A protection is good. And Gorsuch is firmly based on protecting our liberties, all of them listed in the Bill of Rights.

I do not believe Gorsuch/Kavanaugh/Barrett appointments were lost opportunities rather "Originalist" appointments of quite smart judges who will defend our Bill of Rights for decades.
 
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Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barret were not victories. They were lost opportunities. We had the unprecedented option to replace 1/3 of the court in only a 4 year term, and squandered it by appointing weak justices that I don't trust to uphold the 2A or anything else for that matter.
That's really the million dollar question, isn't it? You have to admit though, that situation could have turned out very very badly for us- like "game over" bad and what we ended up with was infinitely better than that alternative. We'll have to wait and see what happens though. Maybe the time for battle is now. Maybe we would be better served by waiting until after mid-terms or even the next Presidential election. Maybe we'll be in a worse position after these elections; although, that seems unlikely given current events and approval ratings. All we can do though is keep playing the excellent political game that we've all been playing for the past 30 years at least. Our cause has been deeply advanced through the ballot box and the soap box, not the bullet box. They recognize this and they're trying to take away our soap box by minimizing our voices on popular social media sites. That's why independent sites like THR will be critical to our success going forward IMO.
 
I certainly hope you're speaking metaphorically instead of actual combat and you've used an historic example of warfare as a metaphor for socially and politically holding against the erosion of the 2nd until the time is prime to make restorative gains.
Just so we're 100% clear, I'm not interested in engaging in actual combat against my own countrymen in any capacity. I play by the rules and, as I said, I think playing by the rules has deeply advanced our cause and we should continue to do that because it has worked well. We need to all be single issue voters though and we need to make it clear to any would be politicians that passing gun control laws or regulations and failing to advance our issue will have consequences for your future in politics regardless of who you are or whether you have an R or a D after your name. They are our tool, not vice versa. They don't say FU to us, we say FU to them and if they need to be reminded of that, then they need to be reminded. What I'm saying here is that if you passed gun control laws and or regulations, I ain't your buddy and I'm gonna be very vocal about that when you're coming to me asking for money and votes and I'm comfortable enough with our current position that I'd be willing to withhold my vote if it came down to it.
 
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No. Absolutely not. The facts speak for themselves, but "shouting them down" negates rational discussion. Shouting puts us purely on an emotional level, and the antigunners are better than us in appealing to the emotions. Besides that, a shouting (presumably armed) mob looks really bad on TV. Think strategically. In the end, this is a battle for "hearts and minds."
You do what you want-I'm done playing nice with antigunners that scream their lies until stupid or empty-headed Americans actually believe it must be the truth, otherwise we wouldn't be so calm, while our opponents are so vocal and vicious. CNN and MSNBC don't care a whit what is truth-they have their own versions of it. And far too many Americans think they are the only ones reporting truth.
 
I think I can summarize this two ways.

As Tirod said, What actually defends our 2d Amendment is our exercise of the 1st., is a great point that we need to keep on everyone's mind.

If you don't use the 1st you will be forced to use the 2nd, is a reminder of what sitting on the sidelines and complaining to an echo chamber can lead to.


1. voting pro-gun on election days
2. joining organizations like Gun Owners of America and being active with that organization in sending messages to govt. officials
3. educating your children the importance of the 2nd A and American gun rights
4. writing, emailing and telephoning your elected officials
5. petitioning for pro-gun causes and/or against anti-gun causes
 
I vote two issues pro gun and pro life. Now, it just so happens that means R. I don’t agree with R party on some things, but I vote the lesser of two evils.
 
I vote two issues pro gun and pro life. Now, it just so happens that means R. I don’t agree with R party on some things, but I vote the lesser of two evils.

Especially since the Libertarian Party is too fringe to ever win.
 
I vote two issues pro gun and pro life. Now, it just so happens that means R. I don’t agree with R party on some things, but I vote the lesser of two evils.
I’ve found many folks who are easily brought to the Pro-gun point of view who are ProChoice or members of alternative lifestyles…because they understand the concept of not infringing on other’s freedom of Choice.

The battle for support will be won in the middle, not by excluding whole segments
 
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