With the invasion by the Russian military, Ukrainian men, women, and children have taken up arms in defense of their loved ones, homes, and country. The American Left, ranging from the radical (Occupy Democrats) to the establishment (Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer), is praising them.

Ironically, these Democrats actively seek to deny Americans this same right of self-defense by continuously attacking the Second Amendment.

At a joint military-civilian combat training event, a 17-year-old Ukrainian described his desire to pick up a weapon and fight. “For me it means freedom, dignity, it means independence from anyone else … to fight for my country, for my family, for my homeland,” he said.

This is remarkably similar to the thinking of America’s founders, who wisely enshrined our rights in the Constitution, declaring, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

After decades of strict gun control laws, the Ukrainian Parliament changed its tune on the Second Amendment, voting to decriminalize gun ownership for self-defense. Although it is unfortunate that it took an invasion by a nuclear-armed power, President Zelensky took extraordinary steps to expedite Ukrainians’ ability to exercise their newly recognized rights. The Ukrainian military began handing out fully automatic AK-47s from its national stockpiles to any able-bodied person capable of taking one.

This is a remarkable story of national defense in an unprepared country that had not previously recognized a right to keep and bear arms. It’s a story of unarmed civilians fleeing for their lives and a president begging untrained citizens to take up arms to defend the nation.

All we can do now is pray that the Ukrainian Parliament’s very recent recognition of the right to bear arms was not too little, too late.

There are better options than waiting for an invasion to train your country’s men, women, and children in the safe handling of firearms and marksmanship. Luckily, our Founding Fathers thought about this over 200 years ago. That’s why we have a healthy culture of self-defense and gun ownership. As long as Americans are free to exercise their individual right to keep and bear arms, what’s happening in Ukraine could never happen here. Millions of self-defense-minded Americans already carry firearms every day without incident. Millions more hunters are expert marksmen with an intimate knowledge of their local topography, and still millions more gun owners previously served or now serve in the U.S. military or law enforcement.

These trained and able patriots, who would be in the forefront of any defense of liberty and national sovereignty in the United States, are ridiculed by the very gun control advocates who celebrate the nearly indiscriminate distribution of fully automatic weapons in Ukraine.

Only last month, President Joe Biden said, “There’s no reason why you should be able to buy certain assault weapons.” During the presidential campaign, he said, “No one needs an AR-15. Period,” and, “There is no way an AK-47 is going to take care of you … if you’re worried about the government knocking down your door.”

Ukrainians seem to disagree, and apparently, so do many on the Left these days. Hopefully, they learn from this experience that rights are universal and fundamentally necessary. For gun control activists watching the tragedy unfold in Ukraine, let this stand as a lesson in the importance of our Second Amendment.

Read more at The Washington Examiner