Gun violence in America is a serious and complex issue, but for all the discussion that has gone on, there is one critical thing missing from the debate: the reason why we have the right to bear arms in the first place.

Gun control advocates frequently forget why the second amendment gives us the right to bear arms. The founding fathers didn’t give us the right to bear arms in order to defend ourselves from criminals or foreign invaders; they wanted us to be able to defend ourselves from the government they created.

The Second Amendment is a check against the power of the federal government. The threat of armed insurrection by the people against the government is a guarantee of freedom from tyranny and oppression.

The First and Second Amendments are the cornerstones of liberty in America. Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “I hope, therefore, a bill of rights will be formed to guard the people against the federal government.”

The founding fathers intended the Second Amendment to be a safeguard against the power of the federal government should the First Amendment fail.

In the words of George Mason, the father of the Bill of Rights, “To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.” An unarmed people cannot hope to be free forever. It is only through freedom of expression and the right to bear arms that we can remain forever free from tyrants.

While many gun control advocates argue that the second amendment is outdated, it is relevant today more than ever. The past seven years have seen the largest erosion of civil liberties in our nation’s history, and ever since the beginning of our republic, the executive branch has been centralizing the power of the federal government.

Advances in technology will soon make the totalitarian dystopia George Orwell imagined in 1984 a reality in many countries and a possibility in our own – but the rise of a totalitarian state in America does not need to be an inevitability.

Autocracies in countries like Russia and China will rule their people by fear. To preserve our own liberty, we must ensure that our own government rules in fear of the people.

If we are foolish enough to give up our gun rights and sheepishly place our trust in the government, we will not have nor will we deserve freedom from tyranny.