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Given how powerful the US military is, doesn't it mean that only a coup by the army could overthrow the government? And if that happens, well, they already have
by simias 10y ago
Given how powerful the US military is, doesn't it mean that only a coup by the army could overthrow the government? And if that happens, well, they already have all the weapons they need, don't they? If the army remains loyal to the government I can't see how a bunch of civilians could overthrow anything, no matter how many guns they own.
That being said I've never been to the USA in my life so I won't pretend I understand the culture over there.
- ctdonath 10y agoAmerican deer hunters alone constitute the largest military on Earth (save perhaps just behind China). That's 18 million well-equipped snipers (never mind the other 50M armed citizens). ...and a very large fraction of the military would likely be on the side of the deer hunters (complex cultural explanation omitted), so the assumption of the army remaining loyal to the government under such circumstances is in grave doubt. BUT... The issue at hand isn't overthrowing the government, it's denying the weak their tools for defending themselves from violent assault. We have due process for doing so; the bill being disparaged in the lead article ensures doing so is in fact via due process, and not simply a faceless bureaucrat checking off a box on a form for some trivial reason (which is a serious problem).
- maxerickson 10y agoChain of command and training and logistics are at least as important to a military as rifles. US hunters constitute a population armed with rifles, not a military.
- ctdonath 10y agoGo look up the Swiss aphorism "shoot twice and go home".
- maxerickson 10y agoThose words were uttered at a time when the Swiss militia had been called up and organized.