A popular point of contention between liberals and conservatives is gun violence and whether or not restrictions should be placed on our civil rights in order to combat said violence. Liberals argue that gun ownership leads to danger, while conservatives argue that private gun ownership is the second amendment to our constitution. However, the trade of a civil right in exchange for security is not only an obvious choice, but a false choice. As Benjamin Franklin said, “He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.” And indeed, they will lose both in due time.

One solution offered by liberals is that guns should be registered federally so owners can be held accountable for lack of safety in storage. However, this itself is one gateway to tyranny. Imagine there were a band of vocal dissidents in a country that was in the midst of violent political turnover. Your guns are registered with the authoritarian regime currently in power, as are the guns owned by everyone hoping to liberate the country. All the government would need to do in such a case is send the military or another force to force you to turn over the only thing equalizing the people and the government, or simply execute you for owning a gun while disagreeing with the party in power. In fact, that exact situation played out in Germany under the rule of Adolf Hitler. Jews and those who were not members of the Nazi party had their guns confiscated, and those who did not comply within 24 hours were executed.

Another offered solution is those who are placed on the “No Fly List” should not be allowed to purchase a weapon. This is in violation of multiple constitutional amendments, but first, a few of the most absurd additions to the no-fly list should explain exactly why this idea is ridiculous to even entertain.

1. Senator Ted Kennedy, the brother of President John F. Kennedy,
2. Representative John Lewis, a Georgia democrat who admits to being held “up to 35 or 40 times” at the airport,
3. An 18-month old toddler.

Clearly the no-fly list can’t even be trusted to list the correct people. However, imagine if any other civil right was treated this way. Imagine if you could be put on a secret list and denied freedom of speech. Imagine if the government could place you on a list and you couldn’t consult a lawyer or bring a case to a fair trial, or that list meant you could be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. They’re all rights that are listed in the constitution, but for some reason we’ve considered this right, the one that protects all other rights, as fair game to play tug-of-war with. Liberals have turned one of the most basic human rights, the right to self-preservation, into a punching bag.

In fact, the states in the United States that have the strictest gun control have the highest rate of gun crime. This is largely due to the fact that criminals don’t have to worry about their victims being on equal footing with them. Whether they’re armed with a knife and robbing a woman half their size or armed with a gun taking down a 6’4” body-builder, the law abiding citizens have no way to protect themselves. This is true in Democrat-controlled gun-free zones such as Chicago where there are upwards of 20 murders per weekend.