There is no doubt that the many on the American Left are staunchly anti-gun. The cognitive dissonance it takes to simultaneously hate cops while demanding that cops be the only ones who have guns is astonishing. Unfortunately, however, it is the norm.
As many readers of the Free Thought Project understand, gun control does nothing to stop criminals from getting their hands on guns and carrying out horrible acts of violence. What gun control actually does is take the right of self-defense away from law-abiding citizens while only allowing criminals and the government to be armed.
This is a lose/lose situation. When only the state and criminals have the means of defending themselves, the citizens become sitting ducks, ready to be overtaken. This became evident this week in Ukraine as Putin began the invasion.
In Ukraine, the largely corrupt bureaucracy is able to limit who gets a gun because there are no statutes governing gun laws like America has a Second Amendment. In the case of Ukraine, it is often only the politically connected folks who get to carry guns.
Thanks to the lack of legal protections regarding firearm ownership, authorities have ridiculous discretion when deciding who can have a gun. The president and ministers often give guns to members of the elite, while making it hard for ordinary people to obtain them. It is estimated that more than 50,000 guns have been issued as presents from authorities to elite figures.
Because it is difficult for the average citizen to obtain a gun, the black market for guns in Ukraine has flourished. The gun control measures in the country have essentially ensured that only state actors and their friends, and the folks willing to break the law — are the only ones with guns.
“We opened the weapons arsenal, and our enemies did the same,” National Police Chief Serhiy Knyazev said in a 2017 interview, describing this very scenario.
Now, as Russian troops cross their borders, most Ukrainians are forced to leave their homes and run as many of them are unarmed and defenseless. Seeing this problem — albeit too late — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought to fix it by arming the citizens… after the fact.
“We will give weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country. Be ready to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities,” he tweeted as the conflict escalated.
We will give weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country. Be ready to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 24, 2022
“All those who are ready to take up arms, join the ranks of the area defense forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We simplified procedures. Only your ID is needed. We give weapons to all patriots!” Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a tweet, following up Zelensky.
Шановні 🇺🇦 ‼️
За останні години ми отримали багато запитів щодо того,як вступити до лав Тероборони ЗСУ.
«Усі,хто готовий тримати зброю,вступайте до лав Сил тероборони ЗСУ.Ми спростили усі процедури.Беріть лише паспорт.Даємо зброю всім патріотам!
Деталі:https://t.co/gzaYUoGv8i pic.twitter.com/TARoF1OQQM— ЗС УКРАЇНИ (@ArmedForcesUkr) February 24, 2022
The problem, like what happened in Ukraine, of government and criminals monopolizing the ability to defend themselves, is nothing new. It was for this very reason that the founding fathers constructed the Second Amendment.
Though the American left largely claims this Amendment exists for hunting, as the Ukrainian crisis illustrates, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
The highly hypocritical and often embarrassingly wrong Occupy Democrats briefly came to this realization this week when they praised the Ukrainian authorities for arming its citizens. Seriously.
To be clear, this group thinks no one should have a gun and thinks that gun manufacturers should be sued for acts committed with their products. By this logic, fork makers should be held liable any time someone hurts someone else with a fork. It’s asinine.
Because they are so logically inconsistent, the following tweet from the folks at OD supporting the arming of Ukrainians, was not utterly shocking. Still, however, it was definitely something to relish in.
The tweets below are a far cry from their previous stance of “no one needs an automatic rifle.” But harsh realities can often cause moments of clarity — even if just for a moment.
If you’re an American who stands with the brave citizens of Ukraine who have been issued 10,000 automatic rifles as they prepare to repel Putin's bloodthirsty invaders — please RT and follow our account for the latest breaking Ukraine news.
— Occupy Democrats (@OccupyDemocrats) February 24, 2022
How long ago was it that we heard from folks just like Occupy Democrats that “you will never fight off a modern Army with an AR-15”? Yet here we are, witnessing these same people tripping over themselves to praise the arming of citizens.
Obviously, the hypocrites at Occupy Democrats don’t represent all the people on the Left. But their concession offers some great insight. They aren’t so much praising guns in the hands of citizens as they are virtue signaling their support for the people of Ukraine.
Their solidarity with the oppressed rings embarrassingly hollow, however, as these same people praised Biden when he invaded a foreign country against their will in Syria, and executed people inside of it, including women and children.
Make no mistake, this selective outrage is entirely engineered and if anyone of these people had a semblance of principle, they would stand against all occupations, not just the ones that are politically convenient and that garner them more likes on Twitter.
