Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shootings, said: "The British are not coming. ... We don't need all these guns to kill people." Lewis' vision, shared by many, represents a gross ignorance of why the framers of the Constitution gave us the Second Amendment. How about a few quotes from the period and you decide whether our Founding Fathers harbored a fear of foreign tyrants.
Alexander Hamilton: "The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed," adding later, "If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no recourse left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government." By the way, Hamilton is referring to what institution when he says "the representatives of the people"?
James Madison: "(The Constitution preserves) the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation ... (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."
Thomas Jefferson: "What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms."
George Mason, author of the Virginia Bill of Rights, which inspired our Constitution's Bill of Rights, said, "To disarm the people – that was the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
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No Representative Lewis...right this minute we don't need them....but we want them. And we don't need a reason to exercise our rights. They are not granted to us by the government or our constitution. They are merely recognized by our constitution.....they are endowed upon us by our creator. They are, therefore, non-negotiable. That which the government hasn't given they can't take away.
ReplyDeletefirst; thank you joe for posting quotes from our founding fathers and leaders. why? because there are so many people who don't have a clue regarding the history of our nation let alone the history of other nations regarding this issue. please keep posting. education is a must.
ReplyDeleteThose same people didn't allow women to vote and blacks were 3/5 of a person. The world has changed and the constitution has changed on many issues. Can it not change to at least ban high capacity assault rifles and automatic weapons?
ReplyDeleteCorrectly stated, 828, These are God given rights, and the second amendment is part of that. without it, the first amendment is negated, along with the rest of the Constitution.
ReplyDelete3:52: NO! That is exactly the point. BTW, what automatic weapons? What is high capacity? Whats the difference between 10 rounds and 11? WHAT IS AN ASSAULT RIFLE?
ReplyDeleteThe 2nd amendment says we need to be armed in case we are called up to be part of a militia to defend the country. Then everyone with a gun should be called up to fight in the wars we are a part of.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting article and again I point out that the right to bear arms is the right to stand up against a government that is not working. Think, people! Categorize, license, file for identification in the spirit of public safety, but take away - are you insane?
ReplyDeleteCategorize, license, file for identification in the spirit of public safety, but take away - are you insane?
ReplyDeleteJanuary 4, 2013 10:24 PM
The only, if in fact ANY, public safety garnered from all that is after the fact. It may be used to solve crimes already committed but does not prevent any crime.
It is just an easy way to make a list of all gun owners and where they live, when they decide to come for them.
Hitler used the same tactics, before he had them shot.