Some Thoughts From a SM Reader … Iran: What if the people were armed?? Shouldn’t All People have Simple Freedoms?

The following is a guest post by a Scared Monkeys reader who was been moved and inspired by the people of Iran and their desire and quest for freedom. Simple freedoms that many of us in the United States sometimes take for granted. Imagine if the Iranian people had freedom of speech, the right to bear arms and assemble. The Iranian people just want their vote to count. That should be something that all Americans should respect, understand and support. How many times have we hear politician espouse and exaggerate the fact that voters were disenfranchised?

We have witnessed over the weekend the atrocities brought on those that would dare question their government over what is obvious to any thinking person a corrupt election. Why shouldn’t Iranians have freedoms similar to what you and I experience every day. Now imagine if your freedoms granted by the US Constitution were taken away.

Iran: What if the people were armed?

We hear from the anti-gun lobby now and again that America is the most violent society in the western modern world, and that the reason we are so violent is because of our liberal gun laws.  One can’t argue with statistics and we do have more deaths at the hand of guns than our counterparts (ie: Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Israel).  But that doesn’t tell the whole story.

When the great framers of our Constitution were debating this very issue in tap rooms and taverns from New York to Philadelphia, there were those that spoke out for strict laws about ‘the people’ (meaning the common folk, We the People) being allowed to own weapons. The arguments against guaranteeing this right ranged from the idea that the ‘common man’ could not be trusted with such weapons of destruction to the notion that if we have a just and free society, there would be no need for anyone to own arms except for our free society’s army.  Proponents of this right to own guns argued that there was not going to be a ‘standing’ militia so that in order to be ready to fight those who would try to conquer us, the citizens of this country must be armed.  Debate was vigorous. 

Wise minds prevailed and inserted the Second Amendment into our Bill of Rights of the Constitution.

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Pro-Government Enforcers
A Mousavi supporter is beaten by men with rubber batons. In the days after the election results were announced in favor of Ahmadinejad, brigades of men, some armed with hoses, clubs, truncheons and sticks appeared in Tehran’s streets, fighting with opposition supporters.

While watching the Iranian people peacefully protesting in the streets for the past few days, my heart ached for them.  They have been threatened with imprisonment, beatings, and death.  The latest news is that the army is throwing chemically tainted water on the protesters! Yet, they march on.

How different things would have been had the Iranian people had the simple, fundamental right to bear arms that we enjoy, and take for granted, in these United States.  While President Obama doesn’t see the importance of standing up for the Iranian people to seek justice in their elections in peaceful protests, I do.  And I believe the world does. (Hat Tip: Post by Tracy1)