249 years ago as of this writing, a gathering of merchants, physicians, lawyers, farmers, and entrepreneurs gathered in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence of the United States. Knowing full well this action would brand them as traitors in the eyes of the English regime, they nonetheless made their declaration, and truly sparked the American Revolution. For themselves and those allied with them, there was no going back. The Crown would, after some political theatre, execute them for being enemies of the State if they were ever captured. To say that the Founding Fathers and their supporters were fighting for their lives is putting it mildly. Failure meant certain death. Success meant establishing the nation, for better or for worse, that we all enjoy today.
Worth noting, of course, is that these men realized that petitioning the Crown ultimately had no effect, so instead, they did what they felt was necessary and dared what was then the best-equipped military in the world to come and get them. Since by nature, a military is an armed force, the only appropriate response to this situation was for the Founding Fathers and their supporters to take up arms of their own in defense of their life, liberty, and property. They didn't concern themselves with barrel lengths, action, and accessories. They acquired their armaments by any means necessary, or made them. Yes, the right to keep and bear arms includes making them, after all.
Inherently, they understood this absolute right. Whether it was a musket, a Puckle Gun, or a capital warship, the people of the United States at the time knew that the only way to ensure aggression from without or within could be dealt with was with similar aggressive force. If someone else had it, then they had to have it as well. Any laws or decrees getting in the way of that were considered an anathema to them. Yes, soon after there were some racially-motivated laws passed, but that's for another post.
Anyway, being armed with any weapon they deemed appropriate enabled the first citizens of the United States, with a smidgen of help from interested external parties, to successfully repeal and humble a vastly superior professional military force. Whether it was harassing supply lines, killing Redcoats and their supporters in their sleep (nasty, but there's no rules in war...), and finally amassing the ability to meet them head on and beat them at their own game, armed Americans prevailed and put a mad tyrant in his place, ushering in the slow decline of an empire that richly deserved it's fate.
Thus, in many ways, Independence Day not only celebrates the founding of the United States, but the importance of the armed citizen as well. At the time of the founding, a professional military of the United States was almost non-existent. Colonial forces existed, but the prime body of armed men was the unorganized militia, aka we the people. The struggling forces of George Washington and the other great military minds may have tried to provide arms for those that chose to fight, but since it was a rebellion after all, those who fought were expected to bring their own weapons if possible. Whether it was a Brown Bess, a Pennsylvania Rifle, or any number of variants, the armed American had the equivalent of today's M4A1, a serviceable and comparatively easy-to-use military weapon. They didn't think in terms of "military weapons" though - a gun was a gun was a gun, and they had every right to whichever one they could acquire.
Thus the bedrock principles of the Second Amendment were realized. A citizen should be able to freely equip himself with a weapon of war, to deal with all enemies, domestic and foreign. From musket to cannon to warship, they owned and utilized them extensively. Yes, privately-owned warships played a role in our founding.
If our founding people had relied on waiting for the government to train and equip a standing army in order to revolt, it would have failed spectacularly, and we'd all be speaking German or Russian by now. Armed citizens having ready access to proportional firepower enabled a revolution to be spun up quickly. Most people were armed, or at least had the knowledge to use a firearm if the call to arms went out.
Freely Armed Americans Promote And Preserve Our Founding Principles
To be certain, the domestic and foreign threat profile is a little more complex than it was in 1776. With a chaotic domestic government that can be harmful at the flip of a switch, and billions of people overseas ready to conduct military, informational, and economic warfare on the citizens of the United States, it is often argued that a person armed with a "mere" AR-15 or similar rifle stands no chance, and they may as well give it up and throw themselves to the mercy of their "betters".
As has been pointed out in the past on this blog, a working general-purpose rifle like an AR-15 gives a person a remarkable leg up against even superior forces. Americans armed with nothing more than muskets (the AR-15s of their day) managed to decisively take down the world's most advanced war machine of the time, the British military. It wasn't direct combat at first, but the skillful use of what we now call guerrilla tactics, using those concepts to disrupt enemy supply lines and sieze bigger and better equipment, working their way up the ladder. Then and now, a man with a rifle can easily acquire an armored vehicle, and go from there.
A plucky band of citizens equipped with ARs today could find themselves equipped with some much heavier firepower, if they play their cards right, tomorrow. And they have every right to possess heavier equipment. Yes, the Second Amendment means tanks and so forth, as well. Parity with a governing body or a foreign threat can only be achieved this way.
The Second Amendment guarantees and acknowledges our right to maintain parity of force with our government. To be fair, through ignorance and apathy, we've let that ability slip over the centuries, but we still maintain formidable firepower and are gradually grabbing back the rights that were taken from us.
By being armed, or at least supporting (hey, in some places it's really difficult to arm oneself and stay alive) the absolute right to keep and bear arms, the armed citizen preserves, promotes, and protects that heritage.
Independence Is Maintained By Armed Citizens, If They Are Motivated
It's no secret, the modern American society prioritizes convenience, comfort, the quest for the almighty fake dollar, and the illusion of safety. As long as the power stays on and the zeroes and ones keep flowing, an alarming number of people will trade away their inherent rights, figuring that the laws being passed "don't harm them", and that "maybe those gun nuts ought to realize they are living in the current year", or a similar misinformed observation. Sadly, during the recent One Big Beautiful Bill fiasco, there have been several MAGA-types prioritizing normie-friendly issues like immigration enforcement over the Second Amendment. While ICE is the favorite law enforcement agency of RGG (which says a lot!), those guys and gals can only be so many places at once, regardless of budget. Violent illegals ultimately are handled by violence. Rabid interlopers tend to stop being rabid when 230 grains of .45 ACP intervene.
Anyways, the conveniences spoken about above can be turned off in the blink of an eye - and a lot of people are ill-equipped to do anything about it. When the lights are out and don't come back on, many will be kicking themselves for not embracing their inherent right to keep and bear arms. As much as people in beleaguered progressive cities rush to gun shops during civil unrest - those who find themselves ill-equipped to defend themselves in a real world-gone-sideways situation will regret their apathy or outright hostility towards the armed citizen.
With the forces of culture aligned against them, it's truly a tough job for the Second Amendment Radical and armed citizen to maintain their worldview, and more importantly, promote the idea of a free and independent citizenry in the United States. Regardless of whom is in the White House, and which wing of the Uniparty is in power, this promotion must be ceaseless and consistent.
And being armed is the best way to ensure that tradition continues. Parents, teach your kids the true meaning of the Second Amendment. If you don't have kids or younger relatives, just be "that guy" who can't shut up about 2A. Be the friendly neighborhood Second Amendment Radical. Get people into this thing of ours. Get them on the side of freedom and fun.
With the mask slipping and major media figures calling for State violence to disarm citizens, it's more important than ever to promote and exercise the right to keep and bear arms.
This July 4th, remember that the true independence of the United States rests on it.
Afterword: On Martial Law
As of this writing, the much-discussed and debated One Big Beautiful Bill promoted by President Trump is on his way to his desk, to be signed with much fanfare this July 4th, 2025. Aside from a watered-down provision which reduces the NFA tax to zero on short-barreled rifles, silencers, short-barreled shotguns, and Any Other Weapons aka the funny umbrella guns etc (sidebar: this move is a good beachead for NFA demolition if we move quick with the One Big Beautiful Lawsuit>), the OBBB is just yet another monster omnibus package that panders to the normie cohort of whichever party is calling the shots in a given electoral cycle. Temporary cuts rather than permanent on some Trump-promoted planks, and no real solution to 37 trillion dollars in debt and nearly ten times that much in unfunded liabilities.
With all the controversy surrounding it, the cohort of people who knee-jerk hate anything Trump does (criticizing a politician is fine and encouraged, but just doing it for social credit really isn't...) have been going off about suspended elections, emergency powers directives, and martial law.
As a general rule, the people who are in the knee-jerk cohort do also routinely vote for people who draft and push gun control policies, and in general do not prioritize the Second Amendment. OK, here's a challenge for this cohort. This Independence Day, which you really shouldn't be celebrating since you support gun control, ask yourself how you plan on dealing with potential martial law, whether it's Trump, or someone else down the line? You probably aren't armed, and if you are, it's just a thing you purchased rather than a serious tool for defense of self and property. Also if it's "your guy" in the hot seat, you'll likely turn any weapons in if they tell you to.
If you worry about a tyrannical government - you shouldn't be espousing and promoting values and policies that enable a tyrant. Trump cohort - that's directed at you all as well. All the little abusive things government does, 99 percent of it is either codified in law or just tradition, in the sense that it's done so much that people are used to it. Today's Palantir-aided hunt for illegals, that machine can go the other way tomorrow.
Also, if you run around supporting gun control, don't expect much help from the Second Amendment community. The Second Amendment guarantees your right to keep and bear arms. It doesn't mean someone else who exercises their right to keep and bear arms suddenly has to drop everything and come and help you. So, if you're running around now going "Where are the Second Amendment people?", the simple answer is that the 2A people are busy looking to securing their own well-being.
Fear tyranny and martial law? Be armed, and don't stand in the way of other people attempting to arm themselves, especially if you push the government to do it on your behalf rather than being the change you want to see in the world and doing it yourself. Don't be lazy, gun control weirdos.
Anyway, to those of you who are Second Amendment Radicals, or trying to be - enjoy your July 4th.
Suggestions For Arming Yourself
| AR-15 & Tier | Cost | Buy Now |
|---|---|---|
| Radical Firearms RF00028 - Budget | $399 | Buy Now! |
| Smith & Wesson Volunteer XV - Mid | $658 | Buy Now! |
| Colt CR6920 Enhanced Patrol Rifle - High | $1349 | Buy Now! |
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