You should buy a gun. Yeah, I know. You dislike firearms and wish we lived in a world without them. But ignoring reality never solves problems. The reality is that Trump may win or steal the election, and he’s made no secret about how he will govern. 

Want more reality? On July 2, 2024, Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, told reporters, “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless – if the left allows it to be.” A few days later, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (the “Black Nazi” in his own words) ominously told supporters, “Some people need killing,” apparently referring to “socialists” and “communists.”

Want more reality? In May, Trump distributed a video promising to create a “unified Reich” if elected.  Also, in May we learned that after the 2021 insurrection, an upside-down flag flew over Justice Samuel Alito’ s home. 

Need more reality? In April, Sen. Tom Cotton publicly encouraged Americans to throw protestors off bridges. Also in April, MAGA hero and failed candidate Kari Lake encouraged supporters to “Strap on a Glock” to prepare for the upcoming election. 

If that’s not enough reality for you, in February conservative activist Jack Posobiec told an audience, “Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely.” 

These people claim to belong to the party the “Party of Freedom,” but their words and actions prove they are fascists. They loathe democracy and threaten violence to get their way. Americans killed fascists overseas in World War II. We must now face the reality that American fascists may force us to kill them on our own soil.  

Which brings us to why you should buy a gun. There are three reasons. 

The first is to send a message. MAGA knows most Americans don’t want a fascist theocracy, so MAGA leaders routinely threaten violence to intimidate the rest of us. Just more than one year ago, Kari Lake, with complete disdain for prosecutors and judges in multiple jurisdictions, said, “If you want to get to President Trump, you’re going to have to go through me, and you’re going to have go through 75 million other Americans just like me….And I’m going to tell you, most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA.” 

I’ve taught karate for a long time. Failure to stand up to bullies only emboldens them. The MAGA cult must know the rest of us are ready to fight, if necessary, to protect ourselves and our country. So, buy a gun. Learn to use it. Store it safely. Don’t threaten anyone with it. That’s all you need do. Your mere purchase and possession of it will help restrain MAGA and fascism.

The second reason you should buy a gun is to prepare to defend yourself, your loved ones, and the weak if Trump and the fascists gain power and come for you because you speak out. You should buy a gun for the same reason you should buy a socket wrench set. You may need it someday. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but it is folly to ignore the MAGA cult’s constant and increasing threats of violence. Benjamin Disraeli was right when he wrote, “I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.” 

Let me offer a hypothetical. It’s 2027. The Republican Congress has passed, and President Trump has signed, legislation making it a capital offense to have an abortion. Trump’s Supreme Court has held it’s constitutional. The police received a tip that your daughter had an abortion. They are approaching your front door. POLICE is emblazoned on their vests because that gives them a legitimacy CHRISITAN TALIBAN does not offer, but they are not there to serve and protect. 

What will you do? Will you let them take your daughter and execute her? You can dodge my hypothetical by telling yourself that could never happen in America. It’s a horrible choice to have to contemplate, but the horror of it does not make the hypothetical unrealistic. 

Don’t think it can’t happen here. Change can happen abruptly. Remember the fall  of the Berlin Wall? The collapse of the Soviet Union? The January 6th insurrection? You know Trump will pardon the Proud Boys and the other cult soldiers if given the chance. MAGA Republicans have already attacked (and greatly harmed) the rule of law by claiming prosecutions of their leader and his minions are not legitimate. (You never hear them complain about the jury system when a jury convicts a black man).

The typical liberal response to my second argument is, “You can’t fight the entire United States government.” It’s a straw man argument. I do not suggest that you can or should take up arms against our government. But you can prepare for the death of democracy, if it happens, and the emergence of a theocratic police state. You can give yourself options if the worst-case scenario presents itself at your doorstep. You won’t stop evil by yourself, but wars are not won by the actions of one person. They are won by the cumulative sacrifices of many.

The third reason you should buy a gun is to protect yourself, your loved ones, and the weak from the MAGA cult. They preach hate toward gays, minorities, immigrants, disabled people, and anyone who disagrees with them. They preach hate toward government itself. They are armed, ignorant, and filled with hate, and that makes them a danger to every person who is not a white, Christian male. 

The law defines negligence as a failure to do an act which a reasonably careful person would do, or the doing of an act which a reasonably careful person would not do, under the same or similar circumstances, to protect oneself or others. Don’t be negligent. 

When I wrote the first draft of this piece a few months ago, I shared it with a friend I trust and respect. She told me it was defeatist and would harm my reputation as a lawyer. Since then, the Supreme Court abolished the principle that the President is not above the law, and Trump is quoting Hitler more frequently. Career military leaders, mostly Republicans, are telling us Trump will rule like a dictator. 

I pray I am wrong. I hope that years from now people read this and laugh at me. I could handle that. What would be worse, though, would be to remain silent and see these fascists take America without firing a shot. You should buy a gun.

Editor's note: The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect the view of The Mountain-Ear.