For those people always attacking the concept of the 2nd Amendment as "obsolete"

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

CIVILIAN FIREARMS
Number of Privately Owned Firearms in Egypt: estimated @ 1.9 million
Rate of Egyptian Civilian Firearm Possession:estimated 3.52 firearms per 100 people
Number of Privately Owned Firearms - Egypt World Ranking: 37th out of 178 countries

MILITARY FIREARMS
Military forces of Egypt are reported to have 2,682,5003 firearms
Police forces in Egypt are reported to have 455,0004 firearms

So lets see, in Egypt police and miltary have nearly 50% more guns than Civilians.
And only about 3.5% of people own those guns with a ranking of 37th for privately owned guns.
Not sure if you've been following updates recently... but The People there kicking the governments ass.

CIVILIAN FIREARMS
Number of Privately Owned Firearms in America: estimated @ 270 million
Rate of American Civilian Firearm Possession: estimated 88.82 firearms per 100 people
Number of Privately Owned Firearms - US World Ranking: 1st out of 178 countries

MILITARY FIREARMS
US military forces are reported to have 3,054,5533 firearms
US Police forces are reported to have 897,4004 firearms

Well, in America civilians have nearly 6750% more guns than police & military.
And about 89% of people own those guns with a ranking of 1st for privately owned guns.
I think it's safe to say that American citizens have a significantly larger advantage than Egyptian Citizens.
Would the Egyptian government even have done what it did if the odds were stacked so far against them?

These data come from a gun control website...
http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/

[ClassWarrior]

1. I've NEVER heard that argument. From ANYONE.

Gotta make shit up to defend your preconceptions?

NGU.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

5. literally, a single 10 second google serach yields this:

Many people, even on DU, make the basic claim i stated. Almost verbatim, in fact.
Here are 3 of the first 7 links returned in the search... all from DU itself:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=226x6094
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2402765
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x307039

What now?


(Edit: spelling/grammar)

[shadowrider]

16. The problem is that people who agree with the basic premise of a poster

RARELY stop and UNDERSTAND what is written, it's why they say, "No one has ever said any such thing".

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

17. One minor adjustment: "The problem is that people who agree with the basic premise of a poster..."

RARELY use thier brains.

[dmallind]

6. Here's one from this very site

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=118&topic_id=362423&mesg_id=363015

[cleanhippie]

9. NGU? Non-gonococcal urethritis? Are you telling us about your STD or what?

What is with the NGU?

And who is making what up?

[slackmaster]

13. LOL! None are as blind as those who WILL NOT see.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=439&topic_id=285281#285947

[xchrom]

2. And the People are taking charge of their country

With out fire arms.
More courageous them.

[HereSince1628]

7. ++++!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Katya Mullethov]

12. Well duh

They shut off their internet .

[rfranklin]

3. So you are advocating that the crowds in Eqypt should shoot police and soldiers?

Protestors have been gassed and shot in the USA even with the 2nd Amendment. What is it you are claiming?

[randr]

4. So a violent revolution is possible in this age?

I think Gandhi's method has proven far more successful of late.
Besides we do not have nor do the Egyptians a "well regulated militia".

[Maine_Nurse]

11. Many states do...

Alaska's is one of the more active, but there are quite a few states that have state defense forces outside of the National Guard (The state units cannot be federalized and serve solely under state authority).

[randr]

21. I would like a head count of active National Guard gun owners

and just plum crazy gun owners, especially in Alaska. Even taking out the real hunters with their guns, my guess is the loonies still outnumber everyone.

[safeinOhio]

8. If only there were

more guns in the hands of civilians in Somalia.

[The_Commonist]

10. I like what Bill Maher had to say...

"If you love guns, just admit it -- like it's a vice. It's like alcohol or drugs or sex addiction or gambling... It's not good for you or anyone else, but you like it."

Just admit it already, OK? You like guns.

The last thing that should be happening in Egypt right now, is for the protesters to be shooting at the police.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

14. I never said they should be shooting police.

I'm merely pointing out that the events in egypt directly contrast with of those here who claim the 2A is obsolete for some reason. If relatively outgunned civilians can beat up on thier corrupt government, then how is the 2nd Amendment (existing arguably to enable defense against tyranny) obsolete - which allows a huge arms advantage of The Poeple over government???

The only personal remark I gave to the situation was questioning if Egypt would have stepped on the citizens' rights so boldly if Egyptian citizens had the same sort advantage that US citizens do. That is all. Nowhere did I say they "should be shooting police"... clearly their current strategy is working - I agree they should keep their current tactics.

"Just admit it already, OK? You like guns."
And of course I enjoy owning guns. Who here denies liking their guns??
They're expensive, why the hell would I own them if I didn't like them?

IMO, thinking terrible jokes are actually amusing is a vice. It's not good for you or anyone else.
relay that message to Maher for me, would'ya?

[lawodevolution]

25. Bill Meher is a bigot, he's trying to insult a culture he does not understand

Ignorance -> fear -> hate

[TreasonousBastard]

15. Ya know, I'm reminded that when the tanks rolled into Prague...

even the biggest idiots didn't suggest arming the Czechs with rifles and handguns would have made a difference.

[PavePusher]

22. No, but "sticky-mines" are quite easy to produce at home. n/t

[knowone]

23. Perhaps not Prague, but Solzhenitsyn disagrees...

Solzhenitsyn certainly lamented their inability to resist...

"And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand? After all, you knew ahead of time that those bluecaps were out at night for no good purpose. And you could be sure ahead of time that you'd be cracking the skull of a cutthroat. Or what about the Black Maria sitting out there on the street with one lonely chauffeur -- what if it had been driven off or its tires spiked. The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt!" - Solzhenitsyn

[rgbecker]

18. The whole gun thing is really working well in Afghanistan...

The Afghanis are blowing away about 40 invading Americans a month. Thank God they're legal there. And the IED's, arms too, I think.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

19. If you haven't noticed...

the most powerful military in the world has been dicking around in that sandbox for nearly a decade. I'd say those people with their little pop-guns are doing ALOT better than you'd expect fighting off undesirable forces.

[safeinOhio]

20. Also, like Somalia, it shows

that strong, not always the good folks, end up with the most and best guns.

[beevul]

24. I don't know what all the fuss is about.

I think the second amendment is a great restriction on government.

[lawodevolution]

26. Yet Mubarak is still in power

""It was never about the government, by God. It is you (Mubarak) who has to go! What you have done to the people is enough!" said one."

When the dust clears this will be like what happened in Iran