Republicans are destroying their own party.

[Felch]

Thank you for summarizing the map that I posted.

[regexcellent]

Thank you for summarizing the map that I posted.

You're welcome

The fact that it's from 1990 doesn't really change much.

[kentonio]

I've never been prevented from flying, and I say insane and ridiculous **** pretty much all the damn time. Also I can't be arrested for saying things that are insulting, and the police aren't allowed to restrict how many people attend political protests in my country.

Really, so you don't for instance need permits to march in any part of the US?

Turkey has roughly two civilian firearms for every one in government hands. America has 75 guns in civilian hands for every one held by the government.

There is absolutely no comparison between privately owned firearms in the US and anywhere else in the world. Somewhere between one third and one half of all guns in the entire world are privately owned by Americans.

Funny thing that, you have around 300m guns in private hands, yet only around 35% of households own guns. I wonder how many of those guns each of your brave rebels are going to be carrying at any one time?

As Elok rightly points out though, the idea that a few (or a lot) of small arms is going to make any difference is basically laughable. You and many others keep pointing at Afghanistan as if you could do the same in America. Bull****. The Afghans have been fighting external invaders and internal enemies for decades, they are an incredibly tough people who have very little and are used to fighting for what little they have. Americans (and Europeans too) are soft as hell by comparison, and yes that includes former military.

Oh and let's not forget that that in Afghanistan the US military was fighting a war in a foreign land thousands of miles from home. You think they wouldn't do better on home turf with their entire strength available, complete intelligence coverage, full aerial coverage and staging, and fighting an enemy that speaks the same language, thinks the same and is incredibly predictable?

[Wezil]

Curious question:

What will it take for Defenders of Freedom in the US to rise up?

I ask as historically the internment of US citizens didn't do it. What would it take?

[Felch]

Internment of whites. I realize it's racist, but so are most gun owners.

[Wezil]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German-American_internment

Next.

edit:

Also,

The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world. At year-end 2009, it was 743 adults incarcerated per 100,000 population.[4][7][8][9][10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States

[Ben Kenobi]

As Elok rightly points out though, the idea that a few (or a lot) of small arms is going to make any difference is basically laughable. You and many others keep pointing at Afghanistan as if you could do the same in America. Bull****. The Afghans have been fighting external invaders and internal enemies for decades, they are an incredibly tough people who have very little and are used to fighting for what little they have. Americans (and Europeans too) are soft as hell by comparison, and yes that includes former military.

Just because Euros are soft and capitulate to the EU without a shot doesn't mean that Americans will do the same. Right now, Brussels owns you guys.

[Felch]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German-American_internment

Next.

edit:

Also,

The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world. At year-end 2009, it was 743 adults incarcerated per 100,000 population.[4][7][8][9][10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarce..._United_States

Our incarceration rate is a national embarrassment, but it's a political matter (and an economic one with the rise of private prisons), not one that is grounds for civil war. Neither is the internment of a couple thousand Germans. Historically the only things that ever got Americans riled up enough to fight their own government were the Intolerable Acts, and the threat to the slave based economy.

[Wezil]

I think this particular justification is complete BS.

Your government (and mine but we don't claim the Defenders) have been trampling your freedoms for generations. If the gov does something that riles the population up to the point of conflict it would lead to a civil war (as per your own example) not a civilian vs government conflict.

[Ben Kenobi]

BTW, how's that Long Gun Registry working fer ya Wezil?

[Wezil]

Go away Ben. I don't play your BS.

[Felch]

I see what you're saying, but if things got to the point where large numbers of Americans were taking up arms against the national government, then states would be involved at that point as well turning it into a civil war. It's no secret that there are significant regional differences in America, to the point where a Democrat in Oklahoma or Utah might be more right wing than a Republican in Connecticut or Hawaii. Support for an uprising would likewise be concentrated in specific regions, and that support would translate into state governments taking the rebel side.

This might all sound like a bunch of delusional rubbish, but it's what happened 150 years ago. What began as private violence in Kansas spread to a revolt by states against Washington. I see nothing wrong with secession (so long as the cause is just), and while Imran might jump in with the Articles of Confederation and that absurd post Civil War court case, there is nothing in the Constitution that forbids states from breaking away from the Union. After all:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

[Wezil]

I see what you are saying but that is a different argument isn't it?

[Ben Kenobi]

Go away Ben. I don't play your BS.

If you can't get Canadians to give up their guns what makes you think you can get Americans?

[Felch]

I see what you are saying but that is a different argument isn't it?

I wouldn't really call it an argument, more like a digression.