here's something to think about when talking about "civil war"...a lot of gun statistics are from polls, and they don't do a lot of those polls in the inner city. the statistics say about 25% of blacks and latinos own guns, but i'm betting that number is significantly higher, as most of them haven't been polled, and if they were they had very little reason to be honest, and plenty of reasons to lie.
most gun owners are white men who live in rural settings...if and when they "rise up" and come to the city, they're going to be in for a big surprise...they're going to be facing armed minorities that know if these people win, they're going to suffer for it. armed minorities who grew up in the areas they will be fighting in, many of whom are in their own "armed militias"...called gangs...
while i don't consider myself either a democrat or a republikan, i tend to lean towards the more liberal philosophy...and i'm armed. most of the democrats i know are armed. gun ownership may be more prevalent among republikans, but they do not own all the guns, by a long shot.
if they try an armed take over, i see about a week of very bloody fighting, and then the few of them that survive will creep back to their shacks in the woods, and try to act like they didn't participate.....
https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/546454-gun-ownership-among-black-americans-is-soaring
This thread was a good read and touched on many topics. The name calling and bashing were at a minimum which I personally like.
The topic of civil war is interesting to me. Seems many talk about it, but I doubt it would ever happen. Like you, I don't consider myself a dem or rep, but unlike you, I lean a little more conservative but at my own judgment, nothing to do with what a party is telling me.
I don't think its about who has the guns, more about who is willing to fight. Which, I bet is not very many. There wouldn't be red coat vs blue coats, or whites vs minorities. You might not even know who was on the other side until it was too late, being many don't express their politics and a lot, just want to be happy. All military and law enforcement are people just like you and I. They have family and opinions just like we do. I would hope they would put down their arms before killing people on the other side over politics, whatever that might be.
I can honestly say, in the last hundred years, many things have changed, and I hope we can all agree that they are for the better, or at least we are making progress as a society. And I believe that's what we should focus on. Continual improvement.
I have come to terms that society will never be perfect. You will always have hatred, racism, and just the random rouge person who is hell bent on taking people lives. I don't think there will ever be a law or restriction that will stop people like that. Sad but true.
I see one common enemy. The media.. They are pushing people on the left and right to be more extreme and creating division using propaganda and politics, that both sides. I'm sure our elected and not elected officials are at fault too by creating division. We are stronger together and some don't see that any and all politicians stay in power by people following them blindly, or sticking to exactly what one party says instead of making up their own minds about each individual topic. And many of our leaders are getting rich by selling out on laws that aren't good for us, but will line their own pockets. To me, those people are the real enemies.
I love the fact that we do live in a constitutional republic and not a true democracy. That the God given rights granted to us cannot be taken away by the majority no matter what direction we head in the future. I wish many people would come to terms with that. Seems to be the reason many of us fight and argue.
I have the right to free speech, the right to bare arms, and many other rights. It is not up to any individual to silence, nor try to impede on my rights. If you don't like guns, don't get one. Don't like what I say, ignore me. I believe the same about abortions and many other things. I believe any crime should be judged on the facts brought in a trial. For example, if someone does a mass shooting, that person should be charged, and not the means of them doing it. A bad cop, shouldn't represent the good ones. An irresponsible gun owner shouldn't have anything to do with those that are responsible, or the responsible ones shouldn't face any penalty or scrutiny from anyone by the actions of someone else. Above all, I believe in freedom.
If I was hell bent anti gun, anti gay, anti black or white and it consumed my thoughts on a daily basis, I would find a country that suited my beliefs better instead of trying to change the founding principal of the country I live in, America.
I know I might get bashed for some of my views, or the simple saying that I love America and that doesn't bother me. Its your God given right to disagree. I am just proud of all that we accomplished as a nation. I know there is a lot of work to be done, but together with compromise, compassion, and understanding, I think we are on a path of continuous improvement, and that is a good thing.
