2016 NV Senate race: on Gun Control

Sharron Angle: Purpose of Second Amendment is protection against tyranny

It may be tempting to write off Walsh's latest proclamation. But this sentiment--that a Donald Trump loss might justify the violent overthrow of a Hillary Clinton administration--is really just the logical endpoint of a longtime GOP talking point. The National Rifle Association has longed peddled the "insurrectionist" theory of the Second Amendment, arguing that the right to bear arms was intended to protect citizens against a tyrannical ruler.

Although this insurrectionist theory is foreign to the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Second Amendment, it has gained a foothold in the Republican Party. In 2010, Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle suggested that Nevadans might use "Second Amendment remedies" to punish an overly liberal Congress.