Second Amendment & Armed Citizenry vs. Government Force: Historical Precedents | National Review

Second Amendment & Armed Citizenry vs. Government Force: Historical Precedents | National Review
"History shows that an armed citizenry can, in fact, challenge a government it sees as unjust. 
...it falls to me to take on the assertion, made in the New York Times by Michael Schermer, that guns in the hands of citizens aren’t a bulwark against tyranny. 
But, of course, they are. 
...Schermer writes: "Gun-rights advocates also make the grandiose claim that gun ownership is a deterrent against tyrannical governments. 
...If you think stock piling firearms from the local Guns and Guitars store, where the Las Vegas shooter purchased some of his many weapons, and dressing up in camouflage and body armor is going to protect you from an American military capable of delivering tanks and armored vehicles full of Navy SEALs to your door, you’re delusional."
...But, Schermer has avoided the real argument. 
The “defense against tyranny” claim does not hold that any one individual, or a tiny group, can defend any claim against the government with the force of arms. 
And, of course, equal firepower was never the issue. 
Even in the 1770s, an American government could raise a larger and better-outfitted force than what was present at Ruby Ridge or Waco Texas. 
Civil society and good lawyers are all the defense you need against a non-tyrannical government. 
But a tyranny, an invader, or a pretender-government are more effectively resisted with guns. 
Sometimes people put Schermer’s argument more baldly. 
They ask something like this: “Do you really think Bubba in camo gear hiding in the forest is going to take on the U.S. military? The U.S. military has nuclear weapons!” 
Who exactly do you think has stymied the U.S. in Afghanistan for 16 years? 
The Taliban is made up of Afghan Bubbas... 
...The British Empire controlled one quarter of the world’s territory and ruled one quarter of the earth’s population in 1922. 
In that very year, they were forced to make an effective exit from the main part of their oldest colony, Ireland.
...With just the moral support of the society they are living in, and a number of rifles, a small group of men can make it impossible for tyrants to rule."