The second amendment of the constitution of the USA grants the right to bear arms. This is to prevent the government from becoming tyrannical. The idea is that if the US government were to limit the freedom of the American people, they could fight back.


This is what, in my opinion, would happen:

Of course, the government would limit freedom gradually. It is improbable that it would just start shooting dissenters one day, without warning. It would gradually limit personal freedom. At some point, a part of the population would become angry with the policies of the government, while the rest of the people would still tolerate the government's measures.

At that point, the people who thought that the government was tyrannical would decide to exercise their right to resistance. After exhausting conventional ways of stopping the government through political channels, they would see no choice but to use their weapons to stop the tyranny. After all, that's what they're for!

But a large part of the population would still agree with the same government another part had taken up arms against. We can easily imagine the chaos that would follow: The people would be divided into pro-government and anti-government factions, both of them armed. The government, trying to contain the situation, would use serious measures. It would call in the army, establish curfews, declare a state of war. These measures would in turn increase the conviction of the anti-government faction that the government was indeed tyrannical.

Hello, civil war.

And what would be the outcome? Obviously, the government would win. The US army is better equipped, better trained and probably larger than any conceivable militia force. And now the government would be far more oppressive than before, being afraid of being attacked by the people. Many would have died and everything would have changed for the worse.