Ukraine to Grant Citizens Right to Bear Arms

[General Geoff]

https://www.nationalreview.com/news...-emergency-grant-citizens-right-to-bear-arms/

Preparing for the possibility of a large-scale Russian invasion, the Ukrainian government has moved to declare a 30-day state of emergency, grant citizens the right to bear arms, and conscript military reservists between the ages of 18 and 60, adding nearly 200,000 troops to the country’s defense as Russian troops continue to enter the Donbas region.

[...]

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian parliament on Wednesday took steps toward giving civilians the right to bear arms, though the final vote has not yet been conducted.

This is about as 2A related as it gets. Let this be a wakeup call to any fence sitters and casual antis out there. Bearing arms isn't a luxury, it's the duty of a free people who want to keep their freedom.

Ukraine has the right idea but it's too little, too late now.

 

[illinoisburt]

I would note these are proposals, not yet law of their land. Plus it's doesn't actually put arms in people's hands to simply say "here's your rights" without an existing broad distribution network. It's hard to buy things not on the shelf. If we see cold war armories opened and weapons handed out on street corners then it might matter. I expect the end game to be a wash. Areas which has been voting for Russian annexation got their wish against the desires of the country to stay whole.

 

[General Geoff]

Plus it's doesn't actually put arms in people's hands to simply say "here's your rights" without an existing broad distribution network.

I completely agree. A gesture which may have worked if they did it a year, or even 3 months ago. But to wait for an invasion to begin before saying "oh hey yeah now you're allowed to have guns to defend yourselves and your nation," well that doesn't do much good now.

 

[Speedo66]

A little late.

Who’s got time to train these proposed newly armed people? Putting a gun in their hands is one thing, knowing how to properly use it is another.

This should be a wake up call for the rest of Europe, and Asia, especially Taiwan, for that matter. Finland knows….

 

[General Geoff]

A little late.

Who’s got time to train these proposed newly armed people? Putting a gun in their hands is one thing, knowing how to properly use it is another.

Agreed. However it doesn't take much time to give people a crash course in firearm usage and marksmanship. Just a few hours of instruction and range practice is all that's needed for base competency with most folks. The supply of arms, or rather, lack thereof is a bigger issue in this final hour of a massive conflict.

 

[AlexanderA]

An armed mob would get massacred. They would need training, organization, leadership, and logistical support. There's no time for any of that.

 

[Alte Schule]

The Ukraine has some of the least restrictive gun laws in Europe. I believe the only major restrictions are no fully auto firearms for the average citizen, firearms must be safely stored when not in use and you must have a permit. It's estimated that there are between 2 million and 6 million firearms in the hands of Ukrainian civilians.

 

[General Geoff]

It's estimated that there are between 2 million and 6 million firearms in the hands of Ukrainian civilians.

Well that's a start at least.

 

[hso]

Ukraine has

missed the boat.

We must increase the readiness of the Ukrainian army for all possible changes

That was on the 23rd and on the morning of the 24th Russia invaded.

OTOH, Ukraine had been training "territorial defense force reservists" for months. Now we'll see what their citizen soldiers can do.

 

[kidneyboy]

Assuming the Ukranian's are mostly disarmed is naive, even on a good day.

 

[redcon1]

but it's too little, too late now.

Probably so. Remember Judge Alex Kozinski's words (and he was even a liberal):
The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed - where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once.

I'd say doomsday has arrived in Ukraine. Hopefully they aren't as unprepared as it seems.

 

[NC9mm]

Too sad, too late.

 

[FL-NC]

Better late than never? Think of the level of proficiency these people could potentially be at if this was done a year or 2 ago and the government had taken an active role in providing the required resources and training in the mean time.

 

[Blue Jays]

At the same time…who wants to be that Russian soldier standing motionless for ten seconds when the amateurish yet angry Ukrainian teenager with a good rifle takes a shot from 50 yards away? Not me.

 

[reddog81]

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

If the time ever arises where you need to form a militia, you need to have pre-existing access to firearms. I've seen the argument many times that the 2A only refers to "militia" members. What this people fail to realize is that militia would be you and me, and that it would be impossible to form a militia without prior ownership of firearms. Once someone is lobbing rockets inside your country and has tanks racing across the border it is not the time to start thinking about what can be done.

 

[Terry G]

Why is it in peacetime government's want to restrict the right's of people to defend themselves with firearms but if the government is threatened they fall all over themselves to hand out guns to protect the government?

 

[redcon1]

Why is it in peacetime government's want to restrict the right's of people to defend themselves with firearms but if the government is threatened they fall all over themselves to hand out guns to protect the government?

good point but, at the same time, hostile armies rarely limit their hostilities only to uniformed soldiers of the opposing nation. Historically, more often than not, the innocent civilians have endured more than their fair share of the war time atrocities whether it was Tutsi women have their breasts cut off so they couldn't feed their children or Jews being herded into gas chambers or Armenians being marched to their deaths in the desert or even Native Americans being marched to death on the trail of tears or the Chinese being "raped" by the Japanese in Nanking. It goes on and on and on forever. So the RKBA, to me, has nothing to do with protecting the government against attack from another government, it's about protecting the citizen from attack by a government.

 

[lemaymiami]

Never too late... but an armed populace in this case will just lead to slaughter (on both sides) -then the aggressors will sweep up the remnants. From my perspective the outcome is not in doubt... Wish I were wrong...
Pretty sure there are lots and lots of veterans there - and bet that most served in the Russian army...

 

[JCooperfan1911]

GOD BLESS UKRAINE.

The Lord is on their side for sure. I feel like through HIS power they will push back the Russian scurge.

Too little too late??

Not on HIS watch.

 

[Walkalong]

missed the boat.

Yep, it's a day late and a dollar short as they say.

And I assume they plan to collect them afterwards, so why would folks take it seriously?

 

[Mn Fats]

And I assume they plan to collect them afterwards, so why would folks take it seriously?

Absolutely. They never learn a thing across the pond regarding gun ownership.
The war ends and they scrap every one of those donations and again, leave citizens unarmed.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

The British, Russian, and American armies never fared well against the Afghani civilians. The Ukrainians will get pushed back quickly as a regular army but the Russians will be bogged down for a long time trying to clean up and rule.

 

[Paul R Zartman]

All you "cup half full naysayers " this is a call to arms for all those who have prepared...let them fight their battles like we have in our past...support your fellow people of this world...

 

[Jeff olson]

Ya'll are blowing this little skirmish out of proportion. Our brave leader has imposed sanctionis, Russia HAS to comply. After all, he is the only one that has gone toe to toe with putin.

 

[unclenunzie]

Probably so. Remember Judge Alex Kozinski's words (and he was even a liberal):
The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed - where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once.

I'd say doomsday has arrived in Ukraine. Hopefully they aren't as unprepared as it seems.

Off topic but I was curious about the reference to this judge, whose words ring clear with truth. An easy search found this as well, by him recalling his family's exit from behind the iron curtain at age 12:

I remember leaving Romania, December 24, 1961. And I still remember being on the train, making plans for myself, how I would to go the West where people were oppressed and I would share my knowledge of Communism and help bring enlightenment by helping to tear down capitalism. ... And the next thing I remember, I was in Vienna, and I got bubblegum and chocolate, which were freely available. It was as though a cloud or veil had lifted. It was such a different world, you had real consumer goods. People weren't running around with shackles. Everything that had been said about the West was untrue. Bananas were plentiful. In Romania, my father used to have to work a half-day to get three bananas. I remember going with my parents to an open-air market in Vienna and seeing all these bananas, cheap, ... and wondering whether they would be there tomorrow. I looked a week later and they were still there. There was no conscious rethinking or recalculating my point of view. I was now an instant and fervent capitalist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Kozinski#cite_note-7