• po-lina-ergi@kbin.social
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    8 months ago

    For anybody who doesn’t understand the argument, it’s specifically a rebuttal to the idea that “The second amendment only applies to muzzle loaded muskets because nothing more advanced existed at the time”

    “Free speech only applies to newspapers and soapboxes because nothing more advanced existed at the time”

    • Kit Sorens@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      8 months ago

      It’s not a bad counterargument to that claim, we’ve just moved so far past that into the cost-benefit-analysis stage. The cost to keep the 2nd ammendment as it is is pretty fucking high.

      • Jax@sh.itjust.works
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        8 months ago

        These conversations always stunlock me. We are months away from living in a dictatorship in the U.S. and ya’ll are talking about what exactly? Revising the 2nd amendment? Can you please explain that to me?

        Because you simply must be out of your fucking mind if you think disarming yourself in the face of Ya’ll Queda is the course of action.

        • A_Very_Big_Fan@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          I hear you but also: school shooters

          Plus the dictator thing isn’t a guarantee, and even if he does win there’s still the possibility of impeachment when he’s prosecuted for inciting an insurrection

      • Iceblade@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Yeah, what needs to happen is changing those laws. The constitution has been changed many times before, and there’s no reason it can’t be changed again.

    • nBodyProblem@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Yup. Also, they aren’t saying “if we lose guns everyone should lose the right to free speech as well”

      They are saying that, since the right to free speech is clearly and self evidently important in modern mediums, the second amendment clearly extends to modern technology as well.

    • funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works
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      8 months ago

      well you could argue that digital is an extension of signaling using a form of light and sound - which has existed since prehistory.

      However, pedal bicycles and cars are on a similar spectrum (+ horses, tractors, mopeds, powered scooters…) and are subject to different laws.

  • JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    The problem is taking the amendments as unchangeable and almost divinely commanded. They were things written by people hundreds of years ago, and they can be changed. They’re literally called amendments. It doesn’t matter whether the second amendment protects gun rights, it’s up to us nowadays to decide if we want people to have the right to a gun, decided based on our ethical arguments, not what an old document says.

    I say this as a non American, it’s just pretty weird to me that even the anti gun people defend their position by quoting the second amendment (usually), rather than suggesting changing it.

    • RegalPotoo@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      It’s not even just that amendments happen, its that as written laws the US constitution is terribly drafted. It is vague, doesn’t define many of the terms it uses and is full of edge cases that it doesn’t deal with.

      It’s more a statement of ideology than actual law, which means you need a whole system of court decisions that lay out the actual practical interpretations that courts are supposed to follow, which of course are decided based on the political needs of the day so they are a total mess.

        • idiomaddict@feddit.de
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          8 months ago

          It was a huge womens rights movement at the time. They weren’t all prudes, they just thought it would be a more effective way to cut back on domestic violence than going at it directly (more enforceable and politically viable), iirc. Then everyone hated it.

    • ThunderclapSasquatch@startrek.website
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      8 months ago

      One reason is you can’t change Amendments, only repeal and add them. Second you need 2/3 of all 50 state legislatures or Congress to ah Gree before even start that process, ratification requires 3/4 of the states to agree, it’s a fucking process from hell

    • dohpaz42@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      It’s been a long time since I’ve taken a civics class, but my understanding is that you cannot change an amendment. You can repeal it. You can create new amendments. But they actually cannot be changed.

      Now, that said, it takes a lot of agreement to create a new amendment: 2/3rds of both the senate and house must agree, or 2/3rds of the states must petition congress. Both of those options, especially in today’s political climate, is highly unlikely.

      https://www.rd.com/article/how-to-amend-the-constitution/

  • jontree255@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    So no more spewing hate speech disguised as “free speech” and inciting violence on Facebook and Twitter right? Right?

      • jontree255@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        I’m pointing out that whoever made this meme probably didn’t consider that right wing chudds get away with saying a lot of fucked up shit on social because it’s considered “free speech”. See: Libs of TikTok (fuck them).

        Restricting the first amendment cuts both ways.

  • Jake Farm@sopuli.xyz
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    8 months ago

    If you are scared of semi-automatic rifles, wait until you find out about fully-semi-automatic rifles.

  • MrJameGumb@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    They appear to be saying that if they aren’t allowed to own military style automatic weapons for “home defense” then they want all freedoms of speech revoked across all media platforms. I’m not sure what one has to do with the other, but that seems to be the gist of the message.

    Edit: my poor spelling

    • nBodyProblem@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      The first assumed premise is that we all agree that free speech extends across modern mediums, it’s a rhetorical device to show why it’s weird to say the second amendment doesn’t apply to modern technology.

      Honestly, as a liberal, I don’t understand why other liberals oppose modern firearms in private hands. The entire purpose of that amendment is to allow the weak in our society to fight against dictatorship and tyranny; the right to own firearms is an eminently liberal value.

      In a world where we have this terrible person openly trying to set himself up as dictator, with a nonzero chance of actually achieving his goal, how can you reject the amendment that specifically exists to allow us to resist people like him? It has to extend to effective modern weapons to do us any good.

    • the_crotch@sh.itjust.works
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      8 months ago

      What you appear to be saying is that both major political ideologies in this country are actively trying to strip our rights and what they disagree on is which should be taken first

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Love the “military” argument. LOL, like it’s some kinda gotcha.

      American’s have always had equivalent, and usually better, rifles than the military. History lesson. Title sucks, and that premise isn’t asked or answered. Also, heard the presenter is a right-winger. Still, nothing he’s saying in untrue or a half-truth.

      And what do we think the guys who put that in there would think if someone had said, “Nah. Let 'em have guns, but they gotta be nerfed against the military. We want the cops and military all powerful.” 😆 “Have you not been to any of the previous meetings?!”

      • nBodyProblem@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Yup. They literally encouraged people to own and operate private warships that could be used for coastal bombardment. The modern equivalent would be a guided missile cruiser.

        They would probably have LOVED everyone having AR-15s if it were an option 😂

      • yesman@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        We want the cops and military all powerful.” 😆 “Have you not been to any of the previous meetings?!”

        So an armed citizenry prevents unjustified government violence? I think you’ve skipped a meeting or two.

  • Kairos@lemmy.today
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    8 months ago

    Well it doesn’t “apply” to nuclear weapons so.

    And it literally does apply to ALL weapons.

  • cum@lemmy.cafe
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    8 months ago

    It’s literally communist north Korea’s if I don’t have a nuke detonator up my ass at all times

  • fl42v@lemmy.ml
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    8 months ago

    While the author of the meme seems to be unfamiliar with the concept of causality, the last part doesn’t seem that wrong if you look at Assange, for example…