The Second Amendment is under attack. Leftists want to, at a minimum, make it less than useless. Ideally, they’d just repeal the thing and call it a day. However, we know that we need the Second Amendment as a bulwark against tyranny.

“Oh, there’s no need for that. Democracy is all the protection we need,” some might argue, and I’ll concede that most of the time, they’re right. We can create great change in his nation through the use of the democratic methods that drive our republic. However, what do we do if that doesn’t work? What if something happens and the government won’t let us vote on something? Or worse, what if they actively try to work against our efforts to vote through violence and intimidation, then refuse to accept the outcome of that vote?

Don’t tell me it won’t happen, because it’s happening right now. And don’t tell me that western nations are immune, either, because I’m talking about a western nation. In particular, Spain.

In spite of the opinions placing blame on the pro-Second-Amendment charity, there exists a struggle an ocean away that demonstrates just why the right to keep and bear arms is of such importance to our fledgling republic. Just over two centuries ago, the private ownership of arms allowed a continent of underrepresented and overtaxed citizens to rebel against their government and begin the American experiment we’ve been living since. Although the Constitution establishing the right to keep and bear arms has often been the basis for maintaining their private ownership for self-defense, the right was thought to be there to protect the people from the government rather than each other. As the world moves towards more democratic and just ways it may seem difficult to imagine the need to rebel against a government in a civilized society, but the Catalans are experiencing this just now. Fueled by a familiar feeling of taxation without representation, those in the Catalans feel they would be best served standing on its own as a country. As their region continues its spotted history with Spain, they’ve found their shores lined with thousands of Spanish police officers sent by Madrid to stop what the Spanish courts have declared an illegal and unconstitutional referendum to secede from the country. The government of the Catalans has indicated that 844 people were injured by Spanish police in efforts to shut down polling stations, remove people from polls, and dissipate civil unrest from the aforementioned. As far as Spain is concerned, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said, “Democracy won today because the Constitution was upheld.” Ultimately, the Spanish Constitution allows the government to suspend the powers of the regional government. With no democratic recourse for what the Catalans perceive as a tremendous slight by the Spanish government and no constitutional right to arms, their choices have narrowed to hoping the international community can influence Madrid, rebelling against the government in a one-sided battle, or continuing to suffer under conditions that forced one oppressed citizenry into its position to become the greatest country in the world.

Now, I’m not pontificating on what means what in Spanish politics. I have enough to worry about with American politics to delve too deeply into Spains.

That said, what we see is a group of people trying to affect change through the democratic process, only to find themselves being beaten by those they already perceived as oppressors.

Now, let me ask you this. If you were one of the people trying to vote for independence, and you were being beaten for even voting, wouldn’t you want to have constitutional protections that would allow you to throw off that tyrannical government?

Personally, I know what my answer is.