Russia, Russia, Russia- All Things Russia/Trump Related

Test, I could tell you how you simply don't truly understand the 2nd Amendment, but Snore and Jester have pointed it out very clearly. I also appreciate you taking the time to put in writing what you perceive or understand, so that others closer to it here in the US can clarify or explain further.

In my experience, most people outside of the US - and way too many within - can't necessarily relate to our 2A because it is just such a foreign concept to them. You have to truly understand the root of the 1st and 2nd Amendments - our Founding Fathers (and MANY Patriots along side of them), were thinking from the perspective of a restrictive government who taxed unfairly and allowed little to no representation of the everyday citizen. You also have to keep in mind how our country really came into being - fighting for our freedom from said oppressive rulers. The foundation of America is rooted in a simple aversion to authority - no one is gonna tell us what to do....not even a domestic oppressive government body.  The Gadsden Flag embodies that spirit, even today.  So does the saying and visuals regarding the Tree of Liberty.

To expand more on state's rights, as referenced by Snore and Jester, in South Carolina, where I live, hold my CWP (concealed weapons permit) and am an NRA and state certified firearms instructor, you do not have to have a CWP in order to purchase a firearm, but you can open carry. Now, as you note, there are potential social and personal risks associated with it. Why make yourself a target in downtown Charleston? That's a personal choice.

To LEGALLY carry concealed, you must pass a course of material including written and shooting qualifications that is designated and designed by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. There is some leeway on how an instructor may deliver the material, but the base material must be delivered. SLED has been known to audit instructors, particularly if there is an inkling that they might be short-circuiting the education and demonstration processes.

Here, like elsewhere, you must complete a form 4473 in order to drive a background check to purchase a firearm. It is very comprehensive, but in at least 2 recent cases of public shootings, the government screwed up on performing said background check and the individuals, who should have been screened out as a potential problem, ended up with a firearm through the legal process. That's a tactical execution failure, not a system-wide process failure. In any event, if you have your CWP, your background check takes a few minutes, since you have passed several rigorous background checks in your application process (CWP approval process can take up to 90 days). If you do not have your CWP, you can expect the check to take anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 days, depending on complexity of your background info (i.e., aliases, name changes, number of different residences in recent time, etc.).  This is all in reference to sales from a dealer holding a Federal Firearms License.  Private sales (party to party) are also allowed, and are less regulated.  But, in some cases, the burden to prove a sale can come back on the selling party, should the buyer do something nefarious at a later date.

For the individuals who say that "the Founding Fathers wrote the 2A talking about muskets. There's no way they could have known what would be developed." To anyone saying that, I simply ask if the 1A applies to TV, radio, internet blogs, etc. They inevitably say "yeah, of course". That makes it all too easy - how did the FF know what would be developed in the ways of written and heard word? Gets their panties in a bunch literally every single time.

And in closing, to your comment to the effect of not being able to stand up against the military, I would ask you to take a look at any number of insurgencies across the globe. When you're done researching those, take a look at countries that banned firearms from possession by citizens, then look at how many of those citizens were then murdered in their defenseless state.

Hitler in Germany. Pol Pot in Cambodia. Stalin in the former Soviet Union.

And for something more modern, look at what is happening in the EU. Specifically places like the UK and Sweden, where citizens are in a heavily-restricted state when it comes to firearms ownership and personal protection. Combine that with the insurgency of immigrants from dramatically different religious, ethic and socio-economic backgrounds. They aren't exactly in a harmonious and homogeneous environment right now.

Heck, look what is going on right here in the US in Minnesota.  A large immigrant population of Somalis have settled in a section of Minneapolis, and between gang violence and outright blatant attacks on whites and other people on non-Somali heritage, it is getting ridiculous.  Of course, then these people vote in a rabid anti-Semite, anti-American, pro-Sharia law political representative.  That kind of Alinsky, Fahrenheit 451 crap on my home soil is pretty damn disturbing.