# So if Trump wins- do you arm yourself? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [July 1, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591 "2024-07-01T18:30:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/1 "2024-07-01T18:30:28Z")
A lot of people see the gun control debate as a conservative versus liberal issue, and certainly it’s defaulted for the last several decades to conservatives being 2nd Amendment champions and liberals favoring some reasonable degree of gun control. But I don’t think that’s necessarily set in stone. I’ve argued for quite a long time that firearms possession is ultimately a populist or libertarian issue. Certainly there are lots of people who identify as liberal on most social issues but who also favor the right to own firearms- what I call liberal in the original sense of the word meaning in favor of fewer restrictions on freedom. And especially, for those too young to remember, I would harken back to the era of the mid-1960s to mid-1970s, when the Left had a brief love affair with firearms. There were the Black Panthers, who vowed that they would resist police brutality by deadly force if necessary. There was Gary Romain’s memoir _White Dog_, where he related black acquaintances admitting that they were going to serve in Vietnam for the express purpose of gaining combat experience for the race war they were certain was going to break out. Claire Wolfe’s _101 Things to Do 'til the Revolution:_ and Abbie Hoffman’s _Steal This Book_ encouraged people opposed to the Establishment to arm themselves. The radical far left end of the spectrum gave us groups like the Symbionese Liberation Army who saw themselves as the avant-garde of the Revolution. In the depths of the Vietnam era, the election of arch-conservative Richard Nixon as president and the shootings at Kent State, some wondered if we were 6-18 months away from martial law. So: if you really believe that the absolute worst **will** happen if Trump is elected, if you don’t currently own any firearms do you think you will need to? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/2 "2024-07-01T18:38:24Z")
I have never owned guns regardless of the political climate. I think they 1) cost a lot of money, 2) I don’t like having lead bullets and all the lead residue/dust stuff associated with guns, and 3) the odds of my actually using them or needing to use them is just too low. So no, I don’t plan on getting guns regardless of whether Trump wins or not. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/3 "2024-07-01T19:20:11Z")
Guns are much more likely to kill me or someone else by accident than protect me from Trump or anyone else. And a handgun or rifle wouldn’t help if things got to the point where soldiers were going house to house killing people, anyway. Real life doesn’t work like an FPS game, the lone guy with a gun always _loses_ to the army of guys with guns. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/4 "2024-07-01T19:24:29Z")
So, if Biden wins are you going to go vegan? The question makes about as much sense as the OP. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/5 "2024-07-01T19:48:58Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Guns are much more likely to kill me or someone else by accident than protect me from Trump or anyone else. A This is not true. Unless you live in a house with gang members? That famous study was flawed- they only studied inner city and they counted fellow gang members as 'family". 🙄 Mind you, in a home with kids, the gun must be safely secured. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And a handgun or rifle wouldn’t help if things got to the point where soldiers were going house to house killing people, anyway. But this is absolutely true. Really a gun can help in case of a home invasion or robbery before the police take their own sweet time getting there. But that is not common. But buying a gun in case trump goes full fascist? Nope. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/6 "2024-07-01T19:52:02Z")
I don’t trust myself alone with guns. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/7 "2024-07-01T20:04:47Z")
I inherited a hand gun from my father when he died. A few years ago I traded it for computer repair. The last time I held a loaded gun was 40+ years ago in US Navy boot camp. If someone wants to kill me bring it on. Not getting a gun. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/8 "2024-07-01T20:08:06Z")
Not necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/9 "2024-07-01T20:33:13Z")
I already have them. It’s not just MAGA’s that own guns, the flag or religion. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/10 "2024-07-01T20:40:22Z")
If we end up with groups of proud boyz killing people routinely while cops look the other way, then hell yes I’ll be armed. I might lose that firefight, but it **will** be a firefight. Not the street execution of a helpless innocent. I’m under no illusion I or any armed citizen(s) can stand up to the real police or military; that’s fantasy. Back in the day I _was_ the real military in irregular ops. The other team _never_ won. But based on the experience of every RW populist takeover worldwide since ~1900, your problem as a generally low profile law abiding non-RW non-nutbag isn’t the government; it’s the government sponsored or at least government-tolerated irregulars. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/11 "2024-07-01T20:46:54Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > So: if you really believe that the absolute worst **will** happen if Trump is elected, if you don’t currently own any firearms do you think you will need to? I remember a few of my liberal friends expressing a desire to purchase a firearm during the 2016 election. What I don’t know is if anyone of them did or if it was one of those “I’ll move to Canada” type of sentiments. I already own a firearm, so I don’t need to purchase one. It’s been a few years since I went to the range, so I’ll probably buy some ammunition, get some practice in, and I’ll consider getting a concealed carry license again. I’m not so much worried about government goons, but being deep in MAGA country I sometimes worry about my fellow Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/12 "2024-07-01T20:48:10Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > So: if you really believe that the absolute worst **will** happen if Trump is elected, if you don’t currently own any firearms do you think you will need to? No. I’m not in a threatened class, I live in a very deep blue area and I’m far too old and slow to be voluntarily participating in any worst case scenario nonsense. I’ll keep my head down and fiddle quietly while Rome burns, hoping for the best and trying not to think too hard on the worst. ETA: I don’t really believe that the absolute worst will happen if Trump is elected, i.e. that it is inevitable. I just worry that there is a non-zero possibility of it. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/13 "2024-07-01T21:17:30Z")
Do I arm myself? No, I have more than enough firearms (a few purchased, most inherited from my FiL’s collection) and a valid CCW for my state. Should I practice? Probably, I haven’t carried in decades, and haven’t gone shooting since before Covid due to price spikes, but ammunition is probably already spiking. Am I personally worried that I’ll _need_ it? If only the _rational_ part of me was speaking, _probably_ not - while my area is a very red portion of a bluish-purple state, I don’t think it’ll get that bad _here_ - in the sense that a firearm will be useful. I’m more worried that a RWNJ will decide to make a _statement_ by shooting up an abortion clinic or a LBGQT+ club (gotta love Colorado Springs 🙄 ) rather than my home. The semi-irrational part of myself, the part that considers how little of my family got out of eastern Europe before WW2, says I should lay in a lot _more_ ammunition, but I keep it it check. I have enough to deal with RWNJ, and no amount is enough for a purge with even tacit governmental support. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/14 "2024-07-01T22:55:17Z")
I have to admit to being tempted. I grew up around guns but never felt the need. And I had a special needs child, and the only way to guarantee there would not be a firearm accident in the home was to never have a firearm. My kids are grown, and my youngest is hopefully in a better place. In the right circumstances, I might be tempted to go full Tibetan buddhist and take on cycles of nasty rebirth to rid the world of an evil. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/15 "2024-07-02T01:06:26Z")
Well, if Trump wins he’ll live within walking distance of me. So I might be tempted to arm myself in case he goes on a rampage. But what good would any small arm be against his gargantuan armored body or his atomic fire breath? I mean, I’ve seen him shrug off attacks from jet fighters. ---
**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/16 "2024-07-02T01:18:47Z")
I’m not just going to stand around and let right-wingers shoot me! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/17 "2024-07-02T01:30:48Z")
Well said, Sir. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/18 "2024-07-02T02:33:45Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > Well, if Trump wins he’ll live within walking distance of me. So I might be tempted to arm myself in case he goes on a rampage. But what good would any small arm be against his gargantuan armored body or his atomic fire breath? I mean, I’ve seen him shrug off attacks from jet fighters. I believe you might be thinking of Godzilla. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/19 "2024-07-02T02:45:42Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > I might be tempted to arm myself in case he goes on a rampage. But what good would any small arm be against his gargantuan armored body or his atomic fire breath? I mean, I’ve seen him shrug off attacks from jet fighters. Which is why you should have the right to keep and bear an Oxygen Destroyer. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591/20 "2024-07-02T02:54:41Z")
I have multiple guns - 2 .40 carry shields, a .357 wheel gun (a gift - never would have bought it myself), a couple of rifles (.30.06 and a .22 that is fun as hell to shoot), and a 12ga, shotgun. Tons of ammo for the .22, decent amount for the 30.06, and enough to reload the others several times over. I keep an eye out for sales because I’d like to have some extra rounds for the .40s for practice, but in general I feel pretty good about my situation. The zombies aren’t gonna take me without a fight! Worst comes to worst, I have a wooden baseball bat and lots of nails. 🙂 I go to the range about twice a year for fun and practice. I’m actually not worried about Trump or his minions - I know too many of them, all bark, no bite in general. That does remind me though, I need to grab some 12ga clay/sport shells. Last skeet shoot about ran me out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-trump-wins-do-you-arm-yourself/1003591.md?page=2)