The State of the 2nd Amendment

Introduction:

2020 has been a year of upheaval in every facet of normal life. We started with the fear of a war with Iran, and we moved on to a global pandemic, leading into police-brutality and race riots and protests across the country. We have seen mobs of protestors storm and burn out a police station, and the White House go dark while protests raged outside. In the shadow of these riots and protests, are the everyday people and workers that are now having to work from home, or are simply laid off and stuck in their homes. The situation is unstable and fluid, so people are looking inward for their own protection. In March of this year, the United States saw more gun purchases than at any point in recorded history, at around 2.5 million. 

Details:

The COVID-19 pandemic has made everyday Americans learn a very valuable lesson, the hard way. The pandemic has highlighted the weakness of the state. We started off by a federal pandemic response that was centered around a lack of protective equipment and preventative medication for doctors across the country. People were told not to wear masks, but that the masks were needed by medical professionals. This lead to people getting confused, on top of already being scared. This in and of itself was a recipe for disaster when combined with the mass unemployment that hit the country.

The People's faith in their government was further shaken following the murder of George Floyd. The long, drawn out video of a Minneapolis police officer choking a man to death on the sidewalk made people see what has been obvious in much of the black community for a long time: the police are not always your friends. The nationwide violence that ensued peppered everyone's social media feeds with images of cops being overwhelmed by protestors and police cars burning in American streets.

This drove the point home for many Americans that police can be overwhelmed and that they will not always be there to save you if needed. Americans in greater numbers began to take their personal safety into their own hands. They bought guns in larger numbers than ever before, many for the very first time. After seeing that the police may not always be there to save you, even Americans that have never thought about purchasing a gun before have been in lines at gun shops. For a bit of anecdotal evidence from my own life, my local gun store/range is completely out of stock of all of its pistols. Not just 9mm pistols or .45's, all pistols. 

Although this buying spree was born out of fear, it is great news for the 2nd Amendment. For the first time in recent history, there is a new, gun-owning voting bloc that is comprised of Americans from everywhere on the political spectrum. Gun ownership transcends politics in many ways. I have seen a significant uptick in left-leaning and socially progressive pro-gun groups. People on both the left and right can find common ground in their current frustration with the federal government. Although there are definite political differences between many people within the firearms community, we are bonded in a common idea of self preservation and self defense. 

Conclusion:

I think that the 2nd Amendment is in a fairly good place all things being considered. We are not even debating the validity of owning a gun for self defense right now because everyone in America witnessed how the cops can be overwhelmed, even in their own precinct. Even now, when there are record numbers of people being shot in big cities, banning any sort of gun is not the topic that the media is jumping on. I believe that the people of the United States generally support the 2nd Amendment, and i believe that millions of people were grateful that they had the right to bear arms when they had to step up and ensure their own protection.