Gun control proponents love to ridicule gun rights advocates who argue that the Second Amendment is a guard against government tyranny, but what’s happening today in Venezuela demonstrates pretty conclusively that the right to self-defense is essential to a free society.

As the Washington Free Beacon notes, even MSNBC is acknowledging that today (though we doubt they’d ever consciously set out to make a strong case for gun rights):

Anchor Andrea Mitchell introduced [Kerry] Sanders for his report by commenting on the surprising ability of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro to stay in power, despite the pressure on him to step down. “Not only hanging on but he appears to still control the military,” Sanders said. “You have to understand, in Venezuela gun ownership is not something that’s open to everybody. So if the military have the guns, they have the power and as long as Nicolás Maduro controls the military, he controls the country.” Maduro’s socialist regime has presided over economic devastation in Venezuela, where citizens are beset by rising prices and food and medical shortages. The country banned private gun ownership in 2012 under Maduro’s authoritarian predecessor, Hugo Chavez.

Watch:

MSNBC Report on Venezuela Makes Case for Second Amendment https://t.co/pOdsekefc8 pic.twitter.com/Uqh4Vs5pyE — Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) April 30, 2019

'In Venezuela, gun ownership is not something that's open to everybody. So if the military have the guns, they have the power' https://t.co/HDK9jfzmUf — Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) April 30, 2019

Who’d’a thunk?

Imagine that. — ladykrystyna (@ladykrystyna) April 30, 2019

Funny how that works. — Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) April 30, 2019

It really is.

So @MSNBC just red pilled itself? — John Luttrell (@the_drool) April 30, 2019

We wouldn’t go that far. No doubt they’ll be touting gun control soon enough. But it sure is interesting to watch the lightbulb flicker on, if only for a brief moment.