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This research document will address the intent of the two key figures in the drafting of the 2nd Amendment in 1791 and focuses mostly on their statements thereto. It proves that the intent of the 2nd Amendment is to preserve the ownership and carry of military arms of the era (as well as all others)...and nothing in the context of history makes reference to only "sporting" or "hunting" purposes. George Mason heavily influenced the Bill of Rights and James Madison wrote the 2nd Amendment (among the rest of the Bill of Rights). Thomas Jefferson was the key author of the Declaration of Independence. George Washington was the famous General of the Revolution and first President of the U.S. Thomas Paine was the author of Common Sense, a strong influential book in the American Revolution and later wrote the Rights of Man. Samuel Adams was critical in rallying support for the rebellion against Great Britain and fomented such vocal rebellion against the 1773 Stamp Act as well as playing a role in the Boston Tea Party and later participated in the Continental Congress. Patrick Henry said, "Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" and was critical in the American Revolution with his outspoken positions on Rights. "I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials. To disarm the people, that is the best and most effective way to enslave them." --George Mason 1 "A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained in arms, is the best most natural defense of a free country." --James Madison 2 "The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation where the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms" --James Madison 2 "Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government." --James Madison 2 "I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." --James Madison 2 "The personal right to acquire property, which is a natural right, gives to property, when acquired, a right to protection, as a social right." --James Madison 2 "We are right to take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties." --James Madison 2 "The class of citizens who provide at once their own food and their own raiment, may be viewed as the most truly independent and happy." --James Madison 2 "The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse." --James Madison 2 "All men having power ought to be mistrusted." --James Madison 2 "Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth." --George Washington 16 "The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good." --George Washington 16 "When firearms go, all goes. We need them every hour." --George Washington 16 "Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property... Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them." --Thomas Paine 17 "Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, and thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can." --Samuel Adams 18 "The Constitution shall never be construed... to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." --Samuel Adams 18 "Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?" --Patrick Henry 19 "Fear is the passion of slaves." --Patrick Henry 19 "Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!" --Patrick Henry 19 "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined." --Patrick Henry 19 "The great object is that every man be armed." --Patrick Henry 19 ================================ Mr. MASON introduced the subject of regulating the militia. He thought such a power necessary to be given to the Genl. Government. He hoped there would be no standing army in time of peace, unless it might be for a few garrisons. The Militia ought therefore to be the more effectually prepared for the public defence. Thirteen States will never concur in any one system, if the disciplining of the Militia be left in their hands. If they will not give up the power over the whole, they probably will over a part as a select militia. He moved as an addition to the propositions just referred to the Committee of detail, & to be referred in like manner, "a power to regulate the militia." 3 Mr. GERRY took notice that there was no check here agst. standing armies in time of peace. The existing Congs. is so constructed that it cannot of itself maintain an army. This wd. not be the case under the new system. The people were jealous on this head, and great opposition to the plan would spring from such an omission. He suspected that preparations of force were now making agst. it. [he seemed to allude to the activity of the Govr. of N. York at this crisis in disciplining the militia of that State.] He thought an army dangerous in time of peace & could never consent to a power to keep up an indefinite number. He proposed that there shall not be kept up in time of peace more than thousand troops. His idea was that the blank should be filled with two or three thousand. 3 (Mason felt that the standardized and uniform regulations of the militia be determined by the Federal Government, as in the color and style of the uniform, the rank structure and the drilling requirements. He realized that most states would push for their own independent standards for militia matters, and Gerry made note of a lack of check against a standing army. He felt it would never follow any restrictions upon a set number of troops, and proposed that no more than one thousand troops be kept in a time of peace.) Mr. MASON moved as an additional power "to make laws for the regulation and discipline of the militia of the several States reserving to the States the appointment of the officers." He considered uniformity as necessary in the regulation of the Militia throughout the Union. 3 (This proves that "regulated" in the 2nd Amendment means standardized and uniform in structure, and not restricted) Mr. MASON. had suggested the idea of a select militia. He was led to think that would be in fact as much as the Genl. Govt. could advantageously be charged with. He was afraid of creating insuperable objections to the plan. He withdrew his original motion, and moved a power "to make laws for regulating and disciplining the militia, not exceeding one tenth part in any one year, and reserving the appointment of officers to the States." 3 (Intent of George Mason seems to keep the Officers of a State Militia in the employ of the state, as they would be charged with keeping uniformity and standards of the body of the Militia; i.e. every citizen of that state capable of shouldering a rifle) Mr. MADISON thought the regulation of the Militia naturally appertaining to the authority charged with the public defence. It did not seem in its nature to be divisible between two distinct authorities. If the States would trust the Genl. Govt. with a power over the public treasure, they would from the same consideration of necessity grant it the direction of the public force. Those who had a full view of the public situation wd. from a sense of the danger, guard agst. it: the States would not be separately impressed with the general situation, nor have the due confidence in the concurrent exertions of each other. 3 (This prophetic statement indicates that James Madison feared the usurpation of the state militias as a defense force to fall out of favor in lieu of a nationalized force, when authority over said militias were to either lie with one (state) or another (national) authority) Mr. MADISON. The primary object is to secure an effectual discipline of the Militia. This will no more be done if left to the States separately than the requisitions have been hitherto paid by them. The States neglect their Militia now, and the more they are consolidated into one nation, the less each will rely on its own interior provisions for its safety & the less prepare its Militia for that purpose; in like manner as the militia of a State would have been still more neglected than it has been if each County had been independently charged with the care of its Militia. The Discipline of the Militia is evidently a National concern, and ought to be provided for in the National Constitution. 4 (Madison here seems to have concerns that the states may neglect their obligation to maintaining the militia, and indicated a possible national statute requiring, as party to a union of states, a regulation that each state, to a county level, keep militias active) Mr. MADISON moved to amend the next part of the clause so as to read "reserving to the States respectively, the appointment of the officers, under the rank of General officers" 4 (It seems that Madison desires the States to organize and pay officers to command local militias and answer to a higher authority of General officers, probably also under employ of the state) Mr. MADISON. As the greatest danger is that of disunion of the States, it is necessary to guard agat. it by sufficient powers to the Common Govt. and as the greatest danger to liberty is from large standing armies, it is best to prevent them, by an effectual provision for a good Militia. 4 (Madison here states plainly that the best means of defense against a tyrannical government gone awry, using a standing army to impose its will, will be met in kind and deterred by the Militia: The body of the people equally armed and trained to a standing army) Col: MASON & Mr. MADISON, moved to add to the oath to be taken by the supreme Executive "and will to the best of my judgment and power preserve protect and defend the Constitution of the U. S." 5 (This interesting motion shows the beginning of the first part of the oath of office taken today by a president during his inauguration. Not to mention, other political figures, peace officers and those of the military) Col: MASON, being sensible that an absolute prohibition of standing armies in time of peace might be unsafe, and wishing at the same time to insert something pointing out and guarding against the danger of them, moved to preface the clause (Art I sect. 8) "To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the Militia &c" with the words" "And that the liberties of the people may be better secured against the danger of standing armies in time of peace" Mr. RANDOLPH 2ded. the motion Mr. MADISON was in favor of it. It did not restrain Congress from establishing a military force in time of peace if found necessary; and as armies in time of peace are allowed on all hands to be an evil, it is well to discountenance them by the Constitution, as far as will consist with the essential power of the Govt. on that head. 6 (Again Mason and Madison issue forth their concerns of the dangers of a standing army in the control of an evil authority figure, stating their fervent desire to require each state arm/discipline a militia, the body of the population, as a check and balance) Even if the Militia were intended upon being the national army, under the control of the Federal Government, then the wording of the 2nd Amendment: "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." It states the right is of the PEOPLE, not of the Militia. In direct contrast, this indicates the fear (as portrayed by Madison and Mason) of a Standing Army in the hands of a tyrannical centralized government. The PEOPLE (the individually armed citizens) being the best natural check-and-balance to this threat to liberty. The Bill of Rights, which includes the 2nd Amendment "...was influenced by George Mason's 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights" 8 "I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials." --George Mason 1 "A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained in arms, is the best most natural defense of a free country." --James Madison 2 ...compare to the actual wording of the 2nd Amendment: "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." (note how similar the quote of Madison is to the final product seen in the 2nd Amendment. It is obvious that he was the most influential in the final wording) The only logical means to be a check against a tyrannical government, abusing the force of a standing army, would be to allow the keeping and bearing of military arms by the people (independent persons). This directly disproves the basis behind the 1968 Gun Control Act which limits the 2nd Amendment to "Sporting Use Only" and is direct contradiction to the intent of the framers of the 2nd Amendment and the meaning of that integral part of the Bill of Rights. Madison, Mason or any other framer has made NO mention of Arms limited to sporting or hunting use only, and implied on numerous occasions that the Militia, being the body of the people, so armed in a military fashion, are to be the primary means of defense of a free state. The only logical conclusion is that they intended the people (civilians) to be adequately armed with hand-carried arms equivalent to military arms of the era. At the time, a hunting rifle and a military rifle were in fact the same thing, though a hunting rifle may not have a hard point to attach a bayonet, they were in fact the same in function and design. While technology has progressed, we see a large delineation of types of arms coming to bear for a myriad of ideal purposes. At this time, let the comparison be made that the 1st Amendment assures the Freedom of Speech, amongst other freedoms, and that at the time, was mostly used for Vocal Speech and hand-written or type-set printing press speech, does not limit today's varied means of technological advanced communications such as radio, television or internet. Likewise, the 2nd Amendment cannot be construed to limit or disparage the rights of the people (persons) to own any kinds of arms to be deemed necessary for their personal security and the security of their immediate communities. James Madison, being the actual writer of the 2nd Amendment through dictation to the scribe, William Lambert, intended on making it short, clear and very deliberate in its wording. Several months before inking the 2nd Amendment, I present a letter from Madison to Thomas Jefferson regarding the previous problems with the wording and misunderstanding of an earlier draft (of the Militia) amongst the leaders in Congress. "The business of Congress is as yet merely in embryo. The principal subjects before them are the plans of revenue and the Militia, reported by Hamilton and Knox. That of the latter is not yet printed, and being long, is very imperfectly understood." --James Madison in a letter to Thomas Jefferson 24 January 1790 9 It is quite obvious, that regarding previous references to Madison's intent behind the 2nd Amendment, and the subsequent final wording of it in the Bill of Rights, that its literal wording was intentional, and not meant to obfuscate the meaning or allow for misinterpretation. It bears repeating, that one cannot take the historical context out of this discussion, and I again use a quote by James Madison: "Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government." --James Madison 2 Thus, I come to the conclusion, that every restriction or taxation upon the ownership, manufacture or transfer of firearms since the National Firearms Act of 1934 is unconstitutional and contrary to the literal wording and the historical context and intent of the 2nd Amendment. This also includes many State Statutes which infringe upon this inalienable right, granted to us by our Creator and only supposed to be recognized and protected by our Constructional Government. Many states prohibit, unlawfully, the carry of a sidearm or the ownership of certain styles of firearms in direct contradiction to the 2nd Amendment and the inalienable rights it affords the free people of this nation. This goes especially true for those Jim Crowe laws about firearm ownership intended to specifically restrict firearm ownership amongst minorities; especially blacks. In many states, one would have to get "permission" from the local sheriff to buy a handgun. Usually this was a subtle defacto method of denying blacks their inalienable, God-given right to own firearms to defend themselves and their families and their communities as they best see fit. While many states have removed such draconian, unconstitutional and vile laws (only recently), there are still others which refuse to budge on their unchecked blatant disregard for the rights afforded to the free people of this nation by our Constitution, Bill of Rights and subsequent Amendments. In fact, "George Mason refused to sign the proposed Constitution, in part to protest its lack of a Bill of Rights." 8 We can see how strongly George Mason felt about the lack of certain rights in the original drafting of the U.S. Constitution. And now, an excerpt from a letter to Thomas Jefferson, from George Mason: "There are many other things very objectionable in the proposed new Constitution; particularly the almost unlimited Authority over the Militia of the several States; whereby, under Colour. of regulating, they may disarm, or render useless the Militia, the more easily to govern by a standing Army; or they may harrass the Militia, by such rigid Regulations, and intollerable Burdens, as to make the People themselves desire it's Abolition. By their Power over the Elections, they may so order them, as to deprive the People at large of any Share in the Choice of their Representatives." George Mason to Thomas Jefferson Virginia, Gunston-Hall May 26th. 1788. 7 Thus was the inspiration behind the 2nd Amendment; to preserve the arms of the people to resist power left unchecked by normal venues. Tyranny, as it seems, was an eternal fear by the Founding Fathers in any government. That is why the clause "shall not be infringed" was included in the 2nd Amendment. The people disarmed, would have no other means to resist tyranny; certainly voting and speaking out cannot precipitate the standing down of a corrupt authoritarian who managed to take power. At very last, let us break down the 2nd Amendment, word for word, so that no further confusion may continue: The one ratified by both House and Senate: "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." The original and copies distributed to the states, and then ratified by them, had different capitalization and punctuation: “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." ...shall be defined using Common Era Definitions: A Noun The 1st letter of the Roman alphabet; single example of something; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/A Well -adverb thoroughly, carefully, or soundly; http://dictionary.reference.com/dic?q=well&search=search Regulated -verb (used with object) set to some standard or requirement; to adjust so as to ensure accuracy of operation: http://dictionary.reference.com/dic?q=regulated&search=search Militia James Madison's Definition: [A force] "composed of the body of the people, trained in arms" 2 Militia George Mason's Definition: "It is the whole people except for a few public officials." 1 Militia Noun Civilians trained as soldiers but not part of the regular army. http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/militia Being Noun The state or fact of existing: http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/being Necessary Adjective Absolutely essential; Unavoidably determined by prior circumstances; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/necessary To Preposition Character; condition of being; Accompaniment; Addition; union; accumulation. Accord; adaptation; as; Apposition; connection; Effect; end; consequence; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/to The Definite article A word placed before nouns to limit or individualize their meaning. http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/the Security Noun The state of being free from danger or injury; Measures taken as a precaution against theft or espionage or sabotage etc.; Freedom from anxiety or fear; A guarantee that an obligation will be met. http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/security Of Preposition Denoting relation to place or time; belonging to, or connected with; Denoting reference to a thing; about; concerning; relating to; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Of A Noun The 1st letter of the Roman alphabet; one; singular http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/A Free Adjective Able to act at will; not hampered; not under compulsion or restraint; Not held in servitude; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/free State Noun The group of people comprising the government of a sovereign territory; The territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation; A politically organized body of people under a single government; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/state The Definite article A word placed before nouns to limit or individualize their meaning. http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/the Right Noun An abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature; the interest possessed by law or custom in some intangible thing; Anything in accord with principles of justice; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/right Of Preposition Denoting relation to place or time; belonging to, or connected with; Denoting reference to a thing; about; concerning; relating to; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Of The Definite article A word placed before nouns to limit or individualize their meaning. http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/the People Noun (plural of person) any group of human beings (men or women or children); The body of citizens of a state or country; The common people generally; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/people To Preposition Character; condition of being; Accompaniment; Addition; union; accumulation. Accord; adaptation; as; Apposition; connection; Effect; end; consequence; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/to Keep Verb Continue a certain state, condition, or activity; Retain possession of; Look after; be the keeper of; have charge of; allow to remain in a place or position; supply with necessities and support: retain rights to; store customarily; have as a supply; maintain for use and service; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/keep And Conjunction A particle which expresses the relation of connection or addition. It is used to conjoin a word with a word, a clause with a clause, or a sentence with a sentence. http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/and Bear Verb Have; Move while holding up or supporting; Bring forth; Contain or hold; have within: Have on one's person; have rightfully; support or hold in a certain manner; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Bear Arms Noun (plural) Weapons http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Arms Arms -noun Usually, weapons, esp. firearms. http://dictionary.reference.com/dic?q=arms&search=search Shall Verb Be going to; indicates futurity. http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/shall Shall -auxiliary verb must; is or are obliged to; http://dictionary.reference.com/dic?q=shall&search=search Not Adverb Negation of a word or group of words; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/not Be Verb Happen, occur, take place; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/be Infringed Imperative & past participle Of Infringe Infringe Verb Go against, as of rules and laws; http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/infringe < 10 11 With the simplified and literal definitions of the words comprising the 2nd Amendment, I shall now combine them together using a composition of the definitions: A thoroughly standardized force, composed of the whole body of the people, except for a few public officials, trained in arms as soldiers but not part of any standing army, being absolutely essential for the people comprising a sovereign territory who are not to be held in servitude by tyranny, and to be free from danger, injury, theft, espionage or sabotage, the right due to a person or group of people by law and nature to retain possession of, look after, be the keeper of, have charge of, supply with necessities and support, store, have as a supply, or maintain for use and service as well as have, move while holding, carry on one's person or hold in a certain manner any weapon or weapons, must not be infringed Simplified: The whole of the people as well as every individual person, all being important in the defense of liberty in any state, the natural and God-given right to own and carry any and all weapons shall not be infringed. Allow me to reiterate: Mr. MADISON. As the greatest danger is that of disunion of the States, it is necessary to guard agat. it by sufficient powers to the Common Govt. and as the greatest danger to liberty is from large standing armies it is best to prevent them, by an effectual provision for a good Militia. --James Madison, Author of the 2nd Amendment 4 "I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale." --Thomas Jefferson, Principal author of the Declaration of Independence 12 "The spirit of this country is totally adverse to a large military force." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." --Thomas Jefferson 12 It is obvious that the Founding Fathers felt that Standing Armies were amongst the most dangerous threat to Liberty. While Jefferson noted that Banking establishments were more dangerous (rightly so), he still used the collective threat of a Standing Army, which the majority of his peers also felt was a critical threat to Liberty. The Militia, composed of the body of the people, is the natural and most logical deterrent to the abuse of power by a Federal Government or General(s) overstepping Constitutional Authority using violence as a means of coercion. It is this very reason that the 2nd Amendment is most pertinent in the protection of "military-style" rifles which are the common infantry arm of the era. Any ban on "military-style" battle or assault rifles imposed upon the civilian population would be in direct violation of the 2nd Amendment and the public check against possible tyranny, the Militia. With the passage of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (HR-6166), signed by President George W. Bush on October 17, 2006, which was "To authorize trial by military commission for violations of the law of war, and for other purposes." 13 ...and it: Eliminates due process. This law removes the Constitutional due process right of habeas corpus for persons the president designates as unlawful enemy combatants. It allows our government to continue to hold hundreds of prisoners more than four years without charges, with no end in sight. Rejects core American values. Habeas corpus, the basic right to have a court decide if a person is being lawfully imprisoned, is what separates America from other countries. To do away with this American value makes us more like those we are fighting against. It is time to restore due process, defend the Constitution, and protect what makes us Americans. Permits coerced evidence. The act permits convictions based on evidence that was literally beaten out of a witness, or obtained through other abuse by either the federal government or by other countries. Turns a blind eye to past abuses. Government officials who authorized or ordered illegal acts of torture and abuse would receive retroactive immunity for their crimes, providing them with a ‘get out of jail free' card. Makes the president his own judge and jury. Under the Military Commissions Act, the president has the power to define what is - and what is not - torture and abuse, even though the Geneva Conventions already provide us with a guide. 14 15 In light of this, The 2nd Amendment is needed now more than ever. The very threat of the main body of the population owning and bearing arms keeps the government overstepping its Constitutional Authority. By removing this right, we will become one step closer to more infringements upon our rights and if the democratic method fails, we shall have no other recourse and our option to resist tyranny will have become forfeit before it even started. I use the disarming of the Jews, Poles and Gypsies by the Nazis in the 1930's as an example. By the time Kristallnacht took place, every "undesirable" was disarmed and could not effectively resist the blatant tyranny which reared its head on that fateful night. While one may say "It won't happen here," in more instances than not when gun control is enacted, not only does violent crime skyrocket, but it is often followed by state-sponsored genocide. Let us not experiment our futures with this terrible precedent. We cannot, shall not and will not submit to the burdens of unconstitutional decrees whether they be by the President, Congress or the Judiciary. In the context and intent of our historical Forefathers, we must stand firm. Our military rifles, shotguns and handguns must remain untouchable in the eye of this free nation. Without them, our liberty shall be forfeit. They are the core protectee of the 2nd Amendment, and to even infer their restriction is treason at best; tyranny at worst. "All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine." --Thomas Jefferson 12 Even if we (owners of military-style combat arms) are in the minority, it does not grant the majority the right to take action against our rights. The 2nd Amendment: The protector of our Liberty. Should Tyranny come in the guise of an elected official (Hitler rose to power via democratic process), there needs to be an overwhelming ratio of public forces able to restore freedom to the republic. The ratio is something like 500 to 1 in favor of the gun-owning population. Perhaps this is why so many politicians fear the gun-owners; they know as it now stands (us being armed), they cannot impose abject dictatorship without probable armed insurrection. So I beg to differ with those who urge "common sense" gun laws. Common sense is a platitude and nothing else. It is repeated over and over and over until the glaze-eyed thralls vomit those words over again and believe them blindly without a further thought. And now a word from two famous tyrants: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” --Joseph Goebbels. 20 “A lie told often enough becomes truth” --Vladimir Lenin. 20 It's ironic that the original author of Common Sense, Thomas Paine, was so adamant about the freedom of individuals to own arms. If you are one who parrots the phrase "Common sense gun laws" I say to you that you do not understand the core of liberty or the intent of our Constitution. I have shown plenty of references, excerpts and examples of that intent. If you are still lying to yourself, then I pity your cowardice. This reminds me of the feeling toward the "sunshine patriots" so many years ago during our nations birth: “Bid us and our posterity bow the knee, supplicate the friendship and plough, and sow, and reap, to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth? If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!” --Samuel Adams 18 So-called "Assault Weapons" (all weapons can be used to assault) are simply the military arm of the era. They do belong in our streets...in our homes, in our cars, our sheds, our garages, anywhere we find ourselves. The need not only to defend one's life, family and property is filled by being so armed, but the need to defend our Freedom from Tyranny as a whole as well. There are so many instances where they try to imply that these "measures" are for our safety and the safety of our community (and then violent crime in that area goes up and is soon followed by freedoms of speech, privacy and property being blurred). I ask you, how safe will you be during martial law (the phrase itself is an oxy moron)? How safe will we be if all of our freedoms are illegally suspended and we can be taken away to some prison with no due process? When corrupt government officials take control, and interrupt democracy and prevent freedom from existing, what will you do? There are already Patriot Acts I and II, the Military Commissions Act and others, which make it oh-so-easy for the people in power to literally shut down our liberty. What then? Will you passively let it happen until you wake up one morning to tear gas? Will you find yourself in striped pajamas with a golden Star of David over your heart? I tell you, it has already happened. It's not about hunting or sporting. It's about the very rifles that would be used to secure freedom were it threatened by Tyranny (see Lexington & Concord, when the British came to disarm the locals of their arms and the first shots of the American Revolution were fired from citizen militia using military arms of the era). Military arms have already secured freedom in the U.S.. One example is the Battle of Athens, Tennessee (1946), where tyrannical and corrupt government figures who destroyed the democratic process in an American county, used threats of violence against the public, and were subsequently defeated by citizens (mostly veterans) with military arms. It already has happened. We would be foolish to ignore the lessons of our past. Remember the Bonus Army of 1932, where scores of poor and destitute WWI veterans marched on the Capitol to plead for some of their promised bonuses to be paid off completely in 1945. Instead of talking with these men or negotiating, the U.S. Army was called in to burn them out of their pathetic shanties. Unarmed, the veterans didn't stand a chance against the military force. Forget about their right to peaceably assemble (which they were doing) or their right to speak freely (which they were doing). They chose not to arm themselves and were defenseless when their rights to assemble peaceably and speak freely were infringed. Hoover ordered the military charge halted, but Gen. MacArthur did not listen. Hundreds of veterans were injured, several were killed. 21 What then? Several years later, the National Firearms Act of 1934 was the first step in a long line of infringements upon the 2nd Amendment. "A right restricted is a right infringed." --Unknown My fellow Americans, any further bans will be the straw which broke the camel's back. The previous infringements have gone too far already. I do not have to speak of what happens when those in power cross over into tyranny. That line is for them to cross, not those of us who love our nation's freedom and our Constitutional law, order and civility. But people can only stand for so much encroachment upon their rights and liberties. Sooner or later, with the spirit of freedom still strong with those Patriots amongst us, the tyrants shall end in defeat. They may say they want to ban certain "dangerous" types of firearms for the safety of the community (all firearms are equally dangerous as a vehicle or knife...if in the hands of a madman or moron), but in reality the idea of an armed citizenry sickens them. Most of them take offense at the 2nd Amendment, and do everything in their power to usurp it. They tread lightly, for they know that we the people are a giant filled with great resolve. If they tread too close, we may bite like the rattlesnake in the center of the Gadsden Flag. HAD I the heavens’ embroidered cloths, Enwrought with golden and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths Of night and light and the half light, I would spread the cloths under your feet: But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. W.B. Yeats (1865–1939) 22 We are aware of this, though. We will fight any bans, restrictions or illegal "laws" with fervent fanaticism in the courtroom. The Heller Case was only the beginning. More bans will be overturned, with time. We cannot let down our guard or cease our efforts. If they violate their oaths to support and defend the Constitution, well then we shall address that when the time comes. Long live the Republic! Long Live Liberty and Freedom! Death to Tyranny! Death to the New World Order! We Shall Prevail! I leave you with some final thoughts from our Founding Fathers and Framers of our nation: "I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials. To disarm the people, that is the best and most effective way to enslave them." --George Mason 1 "As our enemies have found we can reason like men, so now let us show them we can fight like men also." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition." --Thomas Jefferson 12 (think of being entirely dependant upon others for your security and freedom) "Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "Every generation needs a new revolution." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "Force is the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "I am mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, the sale of a book can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry too." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "I have no fear that the result of our experiment will be that men may be trusted to govern themselves without a master." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." --Thomas Jefferson 12 (Let it be known that "government" is based on the Latin: governus mente, or "control the mind") "I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "Leave no authority existing not responsible to the people." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "One man with courage is a majority." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "Power is not alluring to pure minds." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "The spirit of this country is totally adverse to a large military force." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on." --Thomas Jefferson 12 "An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens." Thomas Jefferson 12 "Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." --George Washington 16 "I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery." --George Washington 16 "If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." --George Washington 16 "It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it." --George Washington 16 "Over grown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty." --George Washington 16 "The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon." --George Washington 16 "The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments." --George Washington 16 "The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good." --George Washington 16 "When firearms go, all goes. We need them every hour." --George Washington 16 "Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth." --George Washington 16 "When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen." --George Washington 16 "There is a Passion natural to the Mind of man, especially a free Man, which renders him impatient of Restraint." --George Mason 1 "Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." --Thomas Paine 17 "He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself." --Thomas Paine 17 "I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death." --Thomas Paine 17 "If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately." --Thomas Paine 17 "Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it." --Thomas Paine 17 "The strength and power of despotism consists wholly in the fear of resistance." --Thomas Paine 17 "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." --Thomas Paine 17 "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." --Thomas Paine 17 "Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, and thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can." --Samuel Adams 18 "How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!" --Samuel Adams 18 "It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." --Samuel Adams 18 "The Constitution shall never be construed... to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." --Samuel Adams 18 "The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks." --Samuel Adams 18 "Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?" --Patrick Henry 19 "The great object is that every man be armed." --Patrick Henry 19 "Guard with jeolous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined." --Patrick Henry 19 ==================================== Sources: 1. George Mason Quotes http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/george_mason.html 2. James Madison Quotes http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/james_madison.html Secondarily confirmed by: http://www.constitution.org/jm/jm_quotes.htm 3. The Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, August 18 by James Madison http://www.constitution.org/dfc/dfc_0818.htm 4. The Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, August 23 by James Madison http://www.constitution.org/dfc/dfc_0823.htm 5. The Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, August 27 by James Madison http://www.constitution.org/dfc/dfc_0827.htm 6. The Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, September 14 by James Madison http://www.constitution.org/dfc/dfc_0914.htm 7. A letter from George Mason to Thomas Jefferson Virginia, Gunston-Hall May 26th. 1788. http://www.gunstonhall.org/georgemason/1788-5-26_GM_to_Jefferson.html 8. United States Bill of Rights http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights 9. James Madison in a letter to Thomas Jefferson 24 January 1790 http://www.familytales.org/dbDisplay.php?id=ltr_mad1667&person=mad 10. Webster's Online Dictionary http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/ 11. Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/ 12. Thomas Jefferson Quotes http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/thomas_jefferson.html 13. Wikipedia Source (Exterior sources listed at bottom) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Commissions_Act_of_2006#cite_note-TheAct-3 14. Original Document, Military Commissions Act of 2006, HR-6166 http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bills&docid=f:s3930enr.txt.pdf 15. Fact Sheet: Military Commissions Act http://www.aclu.org/safefree/detention/29145res20070322.html 16. George Washington Quotes http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/george_washington.html 17. Thomas Paine Quotes http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/thomas_paine.html 18. Samuel Adams Quotes http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/samuel_adams.html 19. Patrick Henry Quotes http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/patrick_henry.html 20. Who said Repeat a lie often enough and it will believed? http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_said_Repeat_a_lie_often_enough_and_it_will_believed 21.The Bonus Army http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_Army 22. W.B. Yeats - Dreams http://www.elise.com/quotes/quotes/yeats.htm ..Quotes not used from Brainyquote.com were found at http://en.wikiquote.org/ or http://www.constitution.org/ |