Opinion
Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- -There is a mass movement in France that is spreading around the world. The French government of President Macron is reeling. The protests have been successful in stopping implementation of a “green” tax on fuel. Police have been out in mass.
How many guns do the Yellow Vests have? They are probably not carrying any, by choice. They have plenty of guns available. The situation and tactics do not call for them.
The Small Arms Survey estimates how many guns are in private hands around the world. France has about 20 privately owned firearms per 100 people[compare that to 120 per person in the U.S.]. Of those, two thirds are unregistered and thus, illegal.
Hunting is popular in rural France. Target shooting and collecting account for about 4.5 million guns. Small Arms Survey lists 8.2 million guns as illegally owned. Many of those are guns that were squirreled away from the wars that have swept over France during the last century. The vast majority of guns in France are in the hands of the population represented by the Yellow Vests, which is to say, the middle class, and especially the middle class outside of Paris.
In democracies, such as France, governments are swept aside long before the stage of armed revolt. The government of President Macron is already teetering, and not a single shot has been fired by the Yellow Vests. The President of the Philippines, Marcos, was swept aside without an armed revolution, in 1986. Even the Soviet Union was swept away without an armed revolt, in 1989-91.
There is always the potential for a democracy to be taken over by totalitarian thugs. Venezuela is a case in point. The Venezuela government has been able to purge the military and buy their loyalty with reliable food and money. In general, in democracies, there does not appear to be sufficient separation of the military from the population to create the requirements for armed revolt.
All other democracies seem far from Venezuela at this time.
Where privately owned guns shine is in restoring local order when government order fails. It is part of the premise of the Second Amendment in the United States 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.”
As we have seen, over and over again, in national disasters in the United States, armed local militias spontaneously create themselves to fill the gap and restore order when government fails.
It works particularly well in the United States because of a long history of self government and self organization.
Civil government is not about to fail in France. Police unions have been reported as considering supporting the Yellow Vests. The Macron government has responded by passing a pay increase for police. Separate the police and the military from the people enough, and you set up the potential for armed revolt. It will not happen in France for a considerable period, if it ever does.
If massive, obvious, repression happens in France, those 8 million illegally owned guns will come into play.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
We need to keep pushing the fact that the left does not care about protecting the kids, that is BS. The reason for gun control is to take away our ability to defend ourselves when the left tries to make an attempt at an armed takeover of the country. This is the only thing stopping them now.
I don’t see the Left Rising in the USA.. Way too many are owned by the government. Something Happened under Obummer that I could not believe, and there was no reaction.. Major auto makers were bankrupt, and saved by the taxpayers.. In the process few realized that millions of UAW workers who would have lost their pensions, became the recipients of tax payer funded retirement with out so much as a by your leave . Many labor unions went bankrupt over the years. with no action from the feds,. Obummer saw a way to own millions of voters, an you… Read more »
Law enforcement is the standing army that the Founders warned us not to have. “What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty …. Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins.” — Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, Floor debate over the Second Amendment [1789] “The militia of these free commonwealths, entitled and accustomed to their arms, when compared with any possible army, must be tremendous and… Read more »
“Separate the police and the military from the people” that something to watch for. A lot of LEOs along with their agencies already think of and even call non LEOs civilians, not fellow citizens. The loyalty most who think like this is derived from the purse of their Barons, i.e. those who pay the most. Everybody not in the military are of course civilians, including civil law enforcement personnel. While in the military, I was disappointingly surprised at the large percentage of the Officer Corps that dislike firearms and people having them. We need to watch them also. As for… Read more »
The article mentions local militias stepping in where the government fails, yet fails to mention what happened when the militia stood strong against BLM. They waited until they made their way through a snowy pass and ambushed,murdering an armed citizen that was not being hostile. If it were not for the number of weapons the government would have murdered every one of them days before when the militia pushed back on the BLM.
So the ending saying that if repression happens in France, those 8 million guns will come into play. I’m not sure I agree. Oppression is a relative thing. I can only assess what’s here in the US but I believe as long as we are not starving, entertained, pacified, the vast majority of the population will just tolerate injustice and oppression. Sure our taxes between labor and end product are 30%+, we’re stopped by a paper dragon from actually carrying our low capacity weapons (semi auto, at best), the government takes our money and gives it to death factories, but… Read more »
Venezuela is mentioned, but South Africa is an even better study of current affairs. They disarmed the farmers and are now the government is claiming the land for themselves…It will soon be distributed to those the government sees fit for ownership.
Merry Christmas!
“…France has about 20 privately owned firearms per 100 people [compare that to 120 per person in the U.S.].”
120 per person?? I need to start shopping.
Europe is waking up, slowly, they are realizing socialism isn’t the answer. The mass invasion of refugees is what finally did it, IMO. The elites don’t get impacted by these things, or most anything they bring down on the majority. This is why they push gun control.
To bad we have too many sheeple in this country.
France might be able to shake free of some of the tyranny they suffer under, but unless and until the French are able to regain their Right to keep & bear arms of all varieties, they will never be truly free. Too many Leftists live in France. As for America, the Leftists keep pushing and pushing and eventually, soon I believe, they will push too far and We The People will push back at them, all the way into the ocean. They’ll have to learn to swim to China. I have no doubt that the leftists won’t stop their $#!t… Read more »