The 2nd Amendment Should Protect the Internet, Not Your AK-47

[applegrove]

The 2nd Amendment Should Protect the Internet, Not Your AK-47

http://byjess.net/the-2nd-amendment-should-protect-the-internet-not-your-ak47/

"SNIP...........................................

(2nd Amendment)


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.

Most gun owners I have talked to usually leave off the first part and invoke the 2nd Amendment as a “right to defend oneself” which is not the case. But that is understandable. Who wants to put in the work of joining a militia these days… all those meetings.

............................

But “arms” can mean many things. Today, in 2012 we have much more effective weapons against our government. The internet. In 2012 our government tried to pass some “tyrannical” legislation in SOPA and PIPA. Did the government listen to us because we have fully loaded assault rifles? No. It was because the citizenry used the internet to lobby and shame the government, and it worked.

The internet is the greatest “arms” we US citizens have and should the Founding Fathers be around today, I think they would recognize this an opt to protect a free internet over guns, which haven’t been effective tools against our government since the Civil War. And in a twisted irony, gun owners are currently using the internet as their most effective weapon in defending their right to own guns. Think of the power our populace would have if these patriots embraced their greatest weapon and we refused to give up our internet until you pry it from our cold, dead hands.

...........................................SNIP"

[Eric the Reddish]

1. Uh.....

I don't have an AK-47. Or any kind of rifle. Honest!

[X_Digger]

2. The first amendment *should* protect it, but it's a mixed bag..

.. because of all of the first amendment jurisprudence tied up with telephony (how most folks first got on the internet) and communication law (think cable tv / cable internet)..

Fourth amendment protections apply- sometimes.

The right to privacy applies- in some contexts.

Shield laws apply- sometimes.

It's a big bag of dog poo, to be honest.