Civil unrest in Iran. And the reported arrests of people allegedly building homemade firearms offers a stark reminder of what happens when an authoritarian government loses its grip, according to the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA).
According to Reuters, Iranian authorities have detained an unspecified number of individuals accused of manufacturing improvised pistols as protests spread across the country. Multiple reports indicate that demonstrators have been killed as security forces attempt to suppress growing resistance to the regime.
CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb said the situation reflects a familiar historical pattern: when governments disarm their populations, people determined to be free will find other ways to resist.
“The strife now reported in Iran has probably been inevitable,” Gottlieb said, pointing to economic collapse, last year’s destruction of Iran’s nuclear development, and what he described as the regime’s descent into outright dictatorship. “People who want to be free will always find ways to fight back, even if it means manufacturing their own guns to get the job done.”
Reports from international outlets indicate that demonstrations have erupted in more than 100 locations across 22 of Iran’s 31 provinces. At least ten demonstrators have reportedly been killed, with one account claiming roughly 30 people were shot in a single incident. Security forces involved in the crackdown allegedly include the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, police, the army, and militia groups loyal to the regime.
Gottlieb said those conditions make armed resistance unsurprising.
“Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that pro-democracy Iranians fighting back against the Ayatollah’s goons would arm themselves any way possible, even with homemade guns,” he said.
There have also been reports that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, may already have contingency plans to flee the country if security forces fail to regain control. An indication, CCRKBA says, that the regime itself recognizes how unstable the situation has become.
Gottlieb drew a historical parallel to America’s founding. He noted that early Americans often relied on locally made firearms when resisting British rule.
“Remember how our forefathers, many armed with rifles and pistols built by village gunsmiths, fought back against tyranny and against the most powerful army and navy in the world,” he said. “There is no Second Amendment in the Middle East, but there is clearly a will to be free.”
According to Gottlieb, that distinction underscores the purpose of the 2A in the United States: preventing the concentration of unchecked power by ensuring that citizens are not left defenseless when government turns oppressive.
“It’s the difference between individual liberty and what some people try to dress up as ‘collectivism,’” he said. “In practice, that usually ends up being a dictatorship.”
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