"How charming that you think that the weapons in countries like Serbia and Kosovo are just hunting weapons. Even the rate of legal ownership in Serbia makes it one of the strongest gun cultures in the world;"
Only the 2nd strongest and still well below American gun culture.
"when you factor in unregistered weapons, the rate of ownership is very probably higher than that of the United States."
No because the United States has plenty of black market weapons as well.
"The same goes for many Balkan countries."
Romania has possibly one of the most insanely restrictive gun legislation in the world. You practically need to be a senator or policeman to carry a real firearm and automatic weapons are way out of people's reach.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_of_gun_laws_by_nation#Romania
Even in Serbia "Fully automatic weapons and non-lethal self-defense devices are prohibited" and police can pretty much deny you a weapon while having the final word on it.
"Simply put, nobody would care if a Second Amendment-type law existed or not. These are also countries where the writ of the government is nothing like as powerful as in the US, so they don't care what the law says. These are countries where the government has to make commercials to persuade people to pay their taxes. Arrested for illegal possession of a weapon? Well, it wouldn't have happened if you'd had the right connections, but you can bribe the right people and it'll all be forgotten."
Okay so mobsters have guns. What about the average folk? They should have the freedom to arm themselves without having to pay bribes and be uncertain of whether or not they're going to jail for it.
"Sounds like a libertarian paradise?"
No because you need rule of law to enforce property rights. I prefer a small government with sensible rules that are followed rather than a big government with stupid laws that are selectively applied.
"As with all such situations, because the institutions of government are weak and untrusted, things don't happen like libertarians tell us they ought;"
Because that's not what libertarians argue for. They want rules applied consistently, but they have to be good rules and they have to enforce property rights and keep people safe from violent thugs rather than try to do a million different things and do them poorly.
"they happen through corruption and violence. Just as surely as the consequence of state socialist rule is shortage, the consequence of libertarian rule is corruption."
These are no libertarian systems.
And corruption is less likely simply because there is less room for it. If private businesses are corrupt (for example hire incompetent people rather than the best people because they have connections) they lose profits in the long term. If government loses money, NO PROBLEMO, just tax more, print more, go into more and more debt whatever.
"Something tells me you've never actually experienced a war; that's another reason we differ. That's how they come, in tanks, accompanied by soldiers in APCs and guys with machine guns. And they're coming with air support. If you wait for them to come out, it's too late. It's not the same as video games."
And as I pointed out, if tyranny were to take over the US at the federal level, there would be defectors in the US army who would refuse to fire on their people. Rebels can also overwhelm certain bases and capture their own tanks.
Furthermore, communist tyranny started in Russia, so even if we grant that eastern European countries never stood a chance against a Russian invasion (which I'm not willing to, the Russians should have been resisted to the death and it is doable, a small group in Romania alone managed to resist until the 60's), if the Russians had a culture of guns and freedom similar to the American system, the commies would have been dealt with from the start.
It's all about moving forward now, disarming the American population as the left wants to do and preventing citizens of other nations from arming themselves (including automatic weapons if they chose to) is not "progressive" it is THE most regressive thing you can ever do.
"So the Jews wouldn't have survived."
I didn't say that, I said, they would have had better chances to survive. If Hitler only managed to kill 3 million that would still be half of what he actually did kill.
"They'd have just died with a little more dignity. That's not a very inspiring message."
And with a few extra dead Nazis.
Well it is for me. If you want to die very slowly over a period of several weeks being starved to death rather than with a gun in your hand fighting the enemy, be my guest.
"You gave the example of the Jews in WW2. Who would these "mortals" who survive be? No, I'd rather have a state and an army I can trust than the promise of certain death. And if I can't trust the government not to kill me, then it's time to move on."
Move on where? There won't be a 2nd America to defect to if this America falls. It really is the last country of freedom.
"It wasn't the only corrupt election in the history of the United States; just one of many thousands. Yet the Second Amendment was there every time. So, if you want to use it as an example of how the Second Amendment protects our rights, fine, as long as you recognize that in 99.9% of cases, it hasn't."
You'd have to give an example as bad as Athens and Etowah and tell how that ended.
"Oh, and there's no mention in the piece you indicated whether African-Americans were able to vote as a result of the Battle of Athens, as was their constitutional right."
You made the accusation, you prove it. Otherwise this is typical SJW race baiting.
Also:
"Around 3:00 p.m. an elderly black man, Tom Gillespie, was denied the right, in racist terms, to vote by Cantrell guard "Windy" Wise at the Athens Water Works polling place. When Gillespie and a GI poll watcher objected, Wise struck Gillespie with brass knuckles. Gillespie dropped his ballot and ran away from the deputy. Wise pulled his pistol and shot the aged farmer in the back"
It's very ironic that despite your claims of this rebellion only benefiting white people or being racist, the GI stood up for the black voter and "C.M. "Windy" Wise was the only person to face charges from the events of August 12, 1946. He was the deputy who shot old Tom Gillespie in the back. Wise was sentenced to 13 years in prison".
Yes such a racist anti-black system! How dare it punished a white guy for shooting a black guy?
"It's hard to know where to begin where unarmed crowds have overturned corrupt regimes. I can only think of fourteen countries where it's happened in the past thirty years; twice in Ukraine and Georgia. Perhaps you should take some interest in the world outside the United States."
If you're an unarmed crowd you're basically gambling against the odds. What's to stop a dictator from just shooting everyone?
Guns don't help okay... why are the Kurds arming themselves then to resist ISIS' TYRANNY if guns make no difference? They should just punch ISIS to death according to your logic.
Why is Obama funding "moderate"* rebels against Assad? If guns are useless against tyrants?
* - disclaimer: I don't think either Assad or the rebels are good guys and I think the rebels in this case are worse than Assad and we should leave Assad alone.
