When a Population is Disarmed: A Brief History of Tyranny

History has shown us again and again that when a nation is disarmed by their government, tyranny follows. Adolph Hitler famously said, “To conquer a nation, first disarm its citizens.”

Recently, Canadian gun rights activist, Bruce Montague told Rebel media that when he first became aware that the government wanted to disarm law abiding citizens he realized that the government did not trust law-abiding citizens. “And when the government does not trust decent people with guns,” he said, “Decent people can no longer trust their government.”

The United States is not the only country based on classical English liberalism- a tradition that respects the God-given right of the individual to life, liberty, and the chance to pursue happiness. It is, however, the one western nation where this principle is most fully enshrined in law. Freedom of speech and the freedom to bear arms are hallmarks of that fact. We were given a legal right to bear arms by the founders because they wanted to create a lasting union, and they had the first-hand experience with the ways in which power corrupts, and liberty is destroyed. The founders knew that the people are the heart, soul, and substance of a nation and they must each individually have the right to defend their own lives, land, and families from any enemy.

Throughout history, governments have understood this. Every state power has known that in order to subjugate a people, those people must be disarmed. A house, after all, is like a fortification when its occupants are armed. Without arms, the occupants of a home are more like prey in a trap when police descend upon them.

History is full of examples of governments disarming their citizens with the promise that they will be protected by the state only to be brutally betrayed. What follows is a litany of blood that has not been taught in American high schools in nearly one hundred years.

1911: Turkey; citizens disarmed – 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered

1929: Russia; citizens disarmed – 20 million Russians murdered

1935: China; citizens disarmed – 20 million Chinese killed

1938: Germany; citizens disarmed – 6 million Jews murdered

1956: Cambodia; citizens disarmed – 1 million “intellectuals” killed

1964: Guatemala; citizens disarmed – 100,000 Mayan Indians massacred

1970: Uganda; citizens disarmed – 300,000 Christians put to death

The ancient eastern martial arts are, almost without exception, the creations of people who were deprived of their weapons. Kung Fu, Karate, Judo, and so many more systems of self-defense were created by people desperate to defend their homes and families from tyrannical governments.

Here in the United States, we have a democratic republic, which means the government must first manufacture consent before they can take our weapons.

Unfortunately living in a civilized society does not exclude us from this type of unlawful action. After Hurricane Katrina finished wreaking havoc in Louisiana, local governments began forcibly confiscating firearms from everyone, even innocent, law-abiding citizens. One elderly woman was beaten half to death when she attempted to hand over a small revolver to a group of police that forced their way into her home.

As every legal gun owner knows, there are already many laws controlling the sale and movement of firearms. Licensing, controls, varying laws from state to state, and grueling background checks present a high barrier to legal gun ownership. Worse, every legal gun owner has generated paperwork that the government can use to create a list of armed citizens.

The fact that so many false statistics and propaganda are used to try to push anti-gun laws on us is the only proof you need to know that being armed is not a privilege. Responsible gun ownership is the duty of every qualified and capable citizen.

~ American Gun News