By Getmilitaryphotos @ Shutterstock.com
The proof is in. You don’t have to be an ex-special forces member to help protect your country from tyranny. Ukraine has shown the power ordinary citizens armed with weapons can have against one of the largest militaries in the world. Cody Wisniewski explains in The Federalist that “gun rights are human rights.” He writes:
Arming average citizens hasn’t always been the Ukrainian way, either. A 2014 report noted that the country had “inherited the Soviet civilian gun control system, which provides for restrictive gun owner licensing and the registration of all firearms.” According to that report, Ukraine initially considered imposing comprehensive gun laws during the 1990s. But politicians gridlocked over “whether or not private [gun] ownership would increase crime or improve security.”
Hopefully the events of 2022 have settled that question once and for all. An individual’s natural right of self-defense applies equally to the defense of his life as to the defense of his nation — and neither individual nor nation is secure without the ability to exercise it. This should never have been a question.
As it happened, Ukraine was tragically late to expand legal protection of gun rights. Its parliament acted on an emergency basis just before Russia invaded.
Better late than never, certainly. But imagine if the people of Kyiv had been training with these weapons their whole lives. Imagine if they knew them like the back of their hands, instead of quickly learning to handle them during an invasion. Their resistance, as well as their example to the world, would be all the more powerful.
Natural Right to Bear Arms
It’s also unfortunate that Ukraine’s government has left some significant restrictions on the self-defense rights of the Ukrainian people, and has only codified these rights in a statute rather than giving them full constitutional protection. In reality, the right to bear arms — in public and private — is a natural right that the Ukrainian people need no government permission to exercise. They just need the government to stay out of the way of their natural rights.
But in a time even many U.S. jurisdictions violate that natural right, it’s not surprising if other countries are confused about it.
Ukraine is certainly moving in the right direction on gun rights, something that can’t be said of the entire United States. The chairman of Ukraine’s parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, says the new law is meant “to ensure that every citizen receives the sacred right to self-defense.”
The people of Ukraine have a chance because they are armed. It’s a lesson the world should never forget.
Action Line: Never underestimate the value of America’s Second Amendment or the risk posed by those who wish to erase it. If you haven’t already, it’s time to get your gun and your training now. If you’re serious about getting prepared and need regular encouragement to make progress on your goals, I can help. Click here to subscribe for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, and I’ll push you to achieve your goals, and keep your family and finances safe. But only if you’re serious.
E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy
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