On April 5, 2023 Robert Dotson received a knock on the door late at night. Unsure who it was, he answered the door while holding a pistol. The unexpected visitor turned out to be the police, who had not identified themselves, and who instead responded by fatally shooting Robert twelve times. They also attempted to kill his wife, firing at her 19 times, but she was thankfully unharmed (excellent sharpshooters, evidently). It was later revealed that the police were at the wrong address. The New Mexico Deputy Attorney General determined that the police had done nothing wrong. Robert had created an “imminent threat of death” to the officers.

If this story sounds familiar to you, it’s either because you’ve heard it before, or because it reminds you of dozens of other such instances in the United States. The police show up, see a man with a gun, and promptly execute him. Sometimes they’re at the right house, sometimes the wrong house. They then utter the sacred phrase “I feared for my life” and are found 100% innocent. It happened to Robert Dotson, it happened to Philando Castile, and it happened to Breonna Taylor. It can even happen to Daniel Shraver, who did not actually have a gun, they just thought he did.

It can happen to you.

If you can be executed for simply possessing a gun, can you claim to have the freedom to bear arms? If you can be executed for answering the door with a pistol late at night, or for firing at masked, unidentified intruders, can you claim to have the freedom to practice self defense? If the State can legally end your life at home or on the streets, without a trial and due process, for the legal exercise of one of your rights, can you really claim to be free at all? I would argue no, you cannot.

Frustratingly, the most ardent defenders of the 2nd amendment often see no issue with the conduct of the police in these situations. They will scream their heads off about “assault weapon” bans, magazine restrictions, and gun registrations, but when an individual is killed by literal firing squad for exercising their right to bear arms, they avert their eyes. They desperately deflect blame onto the victim, latching onto any and all evidence—no matter how insignificant—which may make it seem as though the victim deserved their fate. “They were a felon”, “they moved too suddenly”, “they were disrespectful to the officer”. As if these statements justify a state-sanctioned execution without due process.

Conservatives worship the police while claiming to be opposed to the State. Who exactly do they think it will be that will “come and take them”? The police are the State’s enforcers. In the event of a ban, it is they who will be going door to door to confiscate arms. It is a paradox to have both a Thin Blue Line and a “Don’t Tread on Me” bumper sticker. I am not saying one cannot be appreciative of cops. Indeed, the existence of police is likely necessary, and it is far from an easy job. However, if one wants to truly protect the 2nd Amendment, it is important that one is not intentionally ignorant of one of its greatest violations. If the police are legally permitted to murder armed individuals, then the 2nd amendment is already dead.