How Creeping Socialism Threatens The Second Amendment
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In early March, a Harris poll revealed that nearly half (49.6 percent) of Millennials and members of Generation Z said they would “prefer living in a socialist country.” Millennials are typically defined as anyone born between 1981 and 1996, and Generation Z includes those born in or after 1997.
Since these two age groups are expected to make up about 37 percent of voting-age Americans for the 2020 election, trouble could be looming on the horizon. Combine that with the fact that an increasing number of U.S. senators and representatives are publicly embracing socialism, and the outlook is even more dire.
The Venezuela Disaster
Venezuela was once the most prosperous country in Latin America, boasting one of the world’s richest oil reserves. High oil prices ensured that the majority of Venezuela’s citizens lived a decent life. In fact, seven years ago, nearly 90 percent of the country’s revenue came from oil.
The oil-centered economy started to crumble when prices began to fall in 2014. The drop from $100 per barrel to about $50 per barrel was more than the economy could stand. The failing economy, coupled with the Nicolás Maduro regime coming into power and morphing Hugo Chávez’s socialist government into a more tyrannical dictatorship, sent the country into a downhill spiral.
The bottom line is that once-proud Venezuela has become the poster child for how a country’s socialist government can quickly become so corrupt that its citizens become mired in a life-or-death crisis. All the while, its leaders seem to care only about themselves, not rank-and-file Venezuelans.
Authorities have even fired upon and killed citizens by the dozens for protesting the Maduro regime. In fact, in the past two years, nearly 200 pro-democracy protesters, armed mainly with rocks, have been shot and killed by government forces in order to squelch their protests.
Socialism And Guns
Ask Venezuelans how they got where they are, and many will tell you that disarmament of average citizens has been a major factor. In fact, it is the sole reason citizens aren’t able to fight back against a corrupt, tyrannical government in their current time of need.
Back in 2012, the Venezuelan National Assembly enacted what was known as the “Control of Arms, Munitions and Disarmament Law,” with the stated purpose of disarming “all citizens.” Effective in 2013, the law banned commercial sale of guns and ammunition to all Venezuelans. That is, all but those within the government and, of course, criminals.
The result: Buy or sell a gun now, and you’ll spend 20 years in prison—if you can survive that long.
“Guns would have served as a vital pillar to remaining a free people, or at least able to put up a fight,” Javier Vanegas, a Venezuelan teacher of English now exiled in Ecuador, told Fox News. “The government security forces, at the beginning of this debacle, knew they had no real opposition to their force. Once things were this bad, it was a clear declaration of war against an unarmed population.”
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