Isn't something seriously wrong when citizens fear their government?

Every citizen should fear their government because of the power we give them. But no citizen needs an assault rifle to protect themselves against anyone in government. This is why we have the Ballot Box.

You are comparing the world today and the world when this country was founded. The founding fathers had just left for the new world. England was ruled by an oppressive king. Back then the monarchy even decided the peoples religion, The Church of England, http://www.churchofengland.org/ . Our founding fathers did not want a government that ruled the people but, a government that was responsible TO the people. Which at that time was unheard of. They made the rules for the government that would protect the peoples rights and a way for the people to protect themselves from the government going rouge. They gave us rights, for instance the right to bear arms, that could/should not be taken away. They felt that is the government started to erode the rights of the people it would become a nation where the people are ruled over not a nation were the people control the government.

I don't think any amount of guns will be able to ''overthrow'' a government the size of the United States. I think because of this, the 2nd amendment has become outdated. Therefore has to be viewed in a historical context to a large degree.

I also do agree that something is seriously wrong when people fear their government. That said, for the sake of fairness, I also think people today have a very good reason to. Especially since the Patriot Act and NDAA have been passed, which gives the American Military the power to detain people indefinitely without trial. With further proposals to regulate free-speech on the internet, this is a serious concern for liberty's sake.

With both perspectives laid out however, I personally disagree with Gun Prohibition, and it has nothing to do with me being Pro-gun. I'm actually not Pro-gun at all. In truth, I don't personally like guns. The reason I oppose prohibition is for the simple fact that it doesn't work. It didn't with alcohol, it isn't with drugs, and I don't believe it would with guns. At least in America where the gun culture is very ingrained.

It's different in Europe, as people generally have a different attitude to guns entirely. The solution for America, from my perspective, is to have better education. Laws will do little to control the 200 Million American guns in circulation (a near impossibility in my opinion).

Governments take things from its citizenry by force! If you don’t understand that simple principle you probably aren’t smart enough to fear your government and will continue being a model slave. Our founding fathers new that inherently men are evil and governments are run by men and having come to the US from ruthless governments they wanted to make sure that the people would never be defenseless, thus the 2 amendment. The second is in our constitution for only one reason and that is to keep our government honest. When the people fear government you have tyranny, when the government fears the people you have democracy.

The point is the government should always fear the people rising up against tyranny. But, its hard to believe that the founding fathers wanted (or imagined) people able to use modern weapons to kill 10's or 100's of people in a matter of seconds.

Since the beginning of time, fear has been used to control a society. It's used every day, nearly everywhere. It's used in religion, in schools, in families, in government. Once people have fear instilled into them, they follow like sheep.

No US citizen requires an assault rifle and there is no constitutional right to own assault rifles. The founding fathers embarked on a huge experiment in developing a system of government. In some respects, they got it wrong.

It's weird. Americans will look at a pile of dead bodies and claim that guns are necessary NOW because of what they imagine took place in 1776! Dead children mean nothing to American gun owners.You watch, sales of guns will go up this month and more people will join the NRA as the gun lobby stokes fear of government (registering or taking away guns). Dead kids are bonanza for American gun people.

They don't have guns because they fear their government. They have guns because they want to. What exactly is someone going to do if the US decided to use its army on its citizens? They will die very quickly, guns or no guns.

But that is not going to happen, it is an excuse by the paranoid and if such sentiments are voiced, that is another good reason to limit ownership.

But its America ! They crazy militia types are just itching for it to kick off

Every two years more US citizens are killed by gunshot wounds than were lost in the entire Vietnam war