Guns: some people want them gone, others don’t want to give them up.

Our Founding Fathers put the right to bear arms as one of the main pillars on which our Bill of Rights stands.

Say what you want about guns, and whatever else suits you, but the right of the individual to keep and bear arms is a Constitutional right.

Now why was the Second Amendment put into place, and how does this conflict or coincide with circumstances today?

People in the late 18-century relied mostly upon themselves for food.

Even in some parts of the world today, a gun can feed you and your family for generations.

A gun was a staple until the concept of mass consumption was introduced, essentially making society reliant on the store rather than the bullet.

Whilst it is a valid argument as many people in isolated regions of the US rely upon weapons for survival, they are not necessary for such survival in the urban sprawl of the city.

But there is another reason why the right to bear arms is enshrined in the Constitution.

As Congressman Larry McDonald (D-Ga.) said, “There are four boxes to be used in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury and ammo. Please use in that order.”

Now, when you think about wars of the past century such as World War I and World War II, you usually think of the European powers and how, regardless of the massive civilian population in the cities and towns, couldn’t stop the Nazis from conquering almost all of Europe.

Well, ironically, before the rather predictable start of WWII and the Nazi invasion of Poland, France had banned the owning of large gauge weapons that have been used by the military since 1880, restricting it to smaller weapons.

Whilst that wouldn’t have stopped the Nazi invaders, it would’ve helped slow the advance.

As a matter of fact, after Adolf Hitler took power in Germany, he banned the owning of private firearms, which allowed the Nazis to take over without much resistance.

Even in places with mildly restrictive gun laws, people are limited to what they can buy or even use.

In Vietnam, it is illegal to own a pistol or handgun, and you are restricted to owning a single shotgun/rifle and must provide reasonable proof for need of the firearm.

The primary reason the US has the freedom and the right to bear arms in our Constitution is to allow for the citizenry to defend against all invaders, both foreign and domestic, and to overthrow a government that has committed abuses against its citizens, as was also stated in the Declaration of Independence, “When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce then under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw of such Government.”

And amongst other historical tidbits, during World War II, when Japan was planning an invasion of the US mainland, the commanding admiral, Isoroku Yamamoto, was supposedly quoted as saying, “You cannot invade the mainland United States, there would be a gun behind every blade of grass.”

Whether guns are needed to defend against all enemies of these United States, or are becoming indeed an archaic and soon useless tool of human invention, Americans intend to hold on to theirs.