Posted on Feb 1, 2017
Should the 2d Amendment be amended to remove the confusing first phrase?
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What say you? Make it clear and unambiguous. One possible text:
"The right of the people to defend themselves, their property and their Nation being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."
"The right of the people to defend themselves, their property and their Nation being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."
2nd Amendment
Constitution
Freedom
Militia
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 492
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There isn't a person alive today that can match wits or knowledge with Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. How can any one today feel so educated they can challenge the thought and due diligence that went into the creation of our Constitution by these men.
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SSG Eddye Royal
I say yes for the reason:
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
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The 2nd Amendment does not need to be changed, our society must respect the founders intent.
The folks arguing for gun control need to respect each citizen's right found in the original intent of the creation of the 2nd Amendment and the SCOTUS needs to enforce the intent by finding these attempts unconstitutional.
The folks arguing for gun control need to respect each citizen's right found in the original intent of the creation of the 2nd Amendment and the SCOTUS needs to enforce the intent by finding these attempts unconstitutional.
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CW3 Harvey K.
LTC John Shaw - The first point concerning "well regulated" is that it modifies the word "Militia", and no other word in the 2nd Amendment. It does not modify "the right of the people", nor does it modify "Arms".
Any attempt to have it leap from the nominative absolute that is the "Militia clause" into the operative clause is senseless. There is no precedent for such verbal acrobatics in English.
Any attempt to have it leap from the nominative absolute that is the "Militia clause" into the operative clause is senseless. There is no precedent for such verbal acrobatics in English.
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CW3 Harvey K.
LT Erik Sapp - Perhaps I misdirected this reply.
REPOST ---
The first point concerning "well regulated" is that it modifies the word "Militia", and no other word in the 2nd Amendment. It does not modify "the right of the people", nor does it modify "Arms".
Any attempt to have it leap from the nominative absolute that is the "Militia clause" into the operative clause is senseless. There is no precedent for such verbal acrobatics in English.
REPOST ---
The first point concerning "well regulated" is that it modifies the word "Militia", and no other word in the 2nd Amendment. It does not modify "the right of the people", nor does it modify "Arms".
Any attempt to have it leap from the nominative absolute that is the "Militia clause" into the operative clause is senseless. There is no precedent for such verbal acrobatics in English.
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SSG Eddye Royal
I say yes for the reason:
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
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I think that it's OK as is, MSgt George Cater, and the constitutional amendment that it would require to change it might yield a worse result than for which was sought.
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SSG Eddye Royal
I say yes for the reason:
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
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MSgt George Cater I think the way its written now is okay, but I'm good with any changes as well. This is a right that should never be removed in my opinion!
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MSG John Wirts
What the Libs deny is that there was no standing Army, and the Militia was every able bodied male between the ages of 18 and 80. The Second Amendment did not give the right to keep and bear arms, it affirmed the GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS!!! It required the Militia to own, maintain, keep proficient with, and stockpile ammunition to defend the community when called upon! With the changes in today's society, the only change should be to define the militia as every able bodied CITIZEN between the ages of 18 and 80! The requirement to own, maintain, be proficient, and stockpile ammunition would remain!
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SSG Eddye Royal
I say yes for the reason:
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
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NO. We don't mess with it! A well regulated Militia, THIS IS A RIGHT! THE COMA IS A PAUSE. WE THE PEOPLE HAVE THE RIGHT TO "A well regulated Militia! Than there is a explanation, "being necessary to the security of a free State". THIS IS THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE OF A STATE TO KEEP THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT UNDER CONTROL! Our founding fathers did not believe in the Federal Government being in charge. Remember, "WE THE PEOPLE" now we move to how a State, WE THE PEOPLE, can insure we control the federal government, "THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO KEEP (OWN) AND BEAR (CARRY) ARMS, Here is another pause. WE THE PEOPLE HAVE THE RIGHT TO OWN AND CARRY OUR GUNS!!!!! and the last portion, this is the most important part, "SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED. Check the period out, very important also. This insures a ending not continuation. Our founding fathers did not trust a federal government and to insure the 1st AMENDMENT WE THE PEOPLE WERE EMPOWERED TO DEFEND THE STATE! The word INFRINGED is defined as, "The encroachment, breach, or violation of a right, law, regulation, or contract. The term is most frequently used in reference to the invasion of rights secured by Copyright, patent, or trademark".
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SSG Eddye Royal
I say yes for the reason:
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
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Not sure I would make a change to the verbiage, but at least you maintained the phrase "the right of the people" in your proposed rewording. I'll never understand the mentality that finds the phrase so crystal clear and unwavering in the 1st Amendment, but suddenly becomes wildly ambiguous in the 2nd.
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SPC Kevin Ford
SGT Dave Tracy - I don't know the particulars of the argument. It is certainly true that the context behind the second amendment has changed, like all of the "the people" amendments. When they were written they were talking about adult males and for the most part adult white males. That's certainly changed. The other bit that has changed is that those same adult males were obligated to serve in their local militias, that context was mixed together too, and it is now different.
Does that change the rights under the second amendment? Not really. The thing that I think in problematic is originally there was responsibility that came with the second amendment. For the most part that social mechanism that created that responsibility is gone. Their are lots of responsible gun owners but also a lot of yahoos who don't know how to handle them safely. The mechanism that would have pushed people towards more responsible gun ownership and accountability to their communities is now gone with the end of the militia system.
Does that change the rights under the second amendment? Not really. The thing that I think in problematic is originally there was responsibility that came with the second amendment. For the most part that social mechanism that created that responsibility is gone. Their are lots of responsible gun owners but also a lot of yahoos who don't know how to handle them safely. The mechanism that would have pushed people towards more responsible gun ownership and accountability to their communities is now gone with the end of the militia system.
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SFC (Join to see)
2s Amendment should never be changed or amended. We don't need a dictatorship ithe land of the free. One change could lead to many others. The intent of our forefathers is clear. IMO everyone wanting a change is trying to interjected their extrapolation of the words.
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SSG Eddye Royal
I say yes for the reason:
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
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GySgt Craig Averill
SSG Eddye Royal - Stop with your B.S. Already, try reading it
The Constitution is a LEGAL and BINDING CONTRACT among the Sovereign States and is NOT a Living Document by any stretch of the imagination, no more than your mortgage Contract is. Because all the Sovereign States have signed this CONTRACT it is known as a COMPACT.
Our RIGHTS are GOD GIVEN and non negotiable. Our Centralized Government was INSTITUTED to DEFEND and SECURE our RIGHTS, end of story.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. "
""On every occasion [of Constitutional interpretation] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying [to force] what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, [instead let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, 12 June 1823"
"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined..."
- George Washington, First Annual Address, to both House of Congress, January 8, 1790
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, January 30, 1787
"What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance. Let them take arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, December 20, 1787
"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."
- Thomas Jefferson, Commonplace Book (quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776
"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, August 19, 1785
"The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to to John Cartwright, 5 June 1824
"I enclose you a list of the killed, wounded, and captives of the enemy from the commencement of hostilities at Lexington in April, 1775, until November, 1777, since which there has been no event of any consequence ... I think that upon the whole it has been about one half the number lost by them, in some instances more, but in others less. This difference is ascribed to our superiority in taking aim when we fire; every soldier in our army having been intimate with his gun from his infancy."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Giovanni Fabbroni, June 8, 1778
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
"To disarm the people...[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them."
- George Mason, referencing advice given to the British Parliament by Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adooption of the Federal Constitution, June 14, 1788
"I ask who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers."
- George Mason, Address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 4, 1788
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops."
- Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, October 10, 1787
"Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of."
- James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788
"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country."
- James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789
"...the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone..."
- James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
- William Pitt (the Younger), Speech in the House of Commons, November 18, 1783
“A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves…and include, according to the past and general usuage of the states, all men capable of bearing arms… "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
- Richard Henry Lee, Federal Farmer No. 18, January 25, 1788
"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 ruined.... The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun."
- Patrick Henry, Speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 5, 1778
"This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty.... The right of self defense is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction."
- St. George Tucker, Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1803
"The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms, like law, discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance ofpower is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. And while a single nation refuses to lay them down, it is proper that all should keep them up. Horrid mischief would ensue were one-half the world deprived of the use of them; for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become a prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves."
- Thomas Paine, "Thoughts on Defensive War" in Pennsylvania Magazine, July 1775
"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, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788
"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them."
- Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 1833
"What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty .... Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins."
- Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, I Annals of Congress 750, August 17, 1789
"For it is a truth, which the experience of ages has attested, that the people are always most in danger when the means of injuring their rights are in the possession of those of whom they entertain the least suspicion."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 25, December 21, 1787
"If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers, may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual state. In a single state, if the persons intrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28
"[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-citizens. This appears to me the only substitute that can be devised for a standing army, and the best possible security against it, if it should exist."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28, January 10, 1788
"As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms."
- Tench Coxe, Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789
The Constitution is a LEGAL and BINDING CONTRACT among the Sovereign States and is NOT a Living Document by any stretch of the imagination, no more than your mortgage Contract is. Because all the Sovereign States have signed this CONTRACT it is known as a COMPACT.
Our RIGHTS are GOD GIVEN and non negotiable. Our Centralized Government was INSTITUTED to DEFEND and SECURE our RIGHTS, end of story.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. "
""On every occasion [of Constitutional interpretation] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying [to force] what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, [instead let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, 12 June 1823"
"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined..."
- George Washington, First Annual Address, to both House of Congress, January 8, 1790
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, January 30, 1787
"What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance. Let them take arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, December 20, 1787
"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."
- Thomas Jefferson, Commonplace Book (quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776
"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, August 19, 1785
"The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to to John Cartwright, 5 June 1824
"I enclose you a list of the killed, wounded, and captives of the enemy from the commencement of hostilities at Lexington in April, 1775, until November, 1777, since which there has been no event of any consequence ... I think that upon the whole it has been about one half the number lost by them, in some instances more, but in others less. This difference is ascribed to our superiority in taking aim when we fire; every soldier in our army having been intimate with his gun from his infancy."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Giovanni Fabbroni, June 8, 1778
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
"To disarm the people...[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them."
- George Mason, referencing advice given to the British Parliament by Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adooption of the Federal Constitution, June 14, 1788
"I ask who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers."
- George Mason, Address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 4, 1788
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops."
- Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, October 10, 1787
"Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of."
- James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788
"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country."
- James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789
"...the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone..."
- James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
- William Pitt (the Younger), Speech in the House of Commons, November 18, 1783
“A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves…and include, according to the past and general usuage of the states, all men capable of bearing arms… "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
- Richard Henry Lee, Federal Farmer No. 18, January 25, 1788
"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 ruined.... The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun."
- Patrick Henry, Speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 5, 1778
"This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty.... The right of self defense is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction."
- St. George Tucker, Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1803
"The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms, like law, discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance ofpower is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. And while a single nation refuses to lay them down, it is proper that all should keep them up. Horrid mischief would ensue were one-half the world deprived of the use of them; for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become a prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves."
- Thomas Paine, "Thoughts on Defensive War" in Pennsylvania Magazine, July 1775
"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, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788
"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them."
- Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 1833
"What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty .... Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins."
- Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, I Annals of Congress 750, August 17, 1789
"For it is a truth, which the experience of ages has attested, that the people are always most in danger when the means of injuring their rights are in the possession of those of whom they entertain the least suspicion."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 25, December 21, 1787
"If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers, may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual state. In a single state, if the persons intrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28
"[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-citizens. This appears to me the only substitute that can be devised for a standing army, and the best possible security against it, if it should exist."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28, January 10, 1788
"As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms."
- Tench Coxe, Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789
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MSgt George Cater
Let's be honest, it is not unclear.
The amendment, the Bill of OUR right states clearly '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.'
A state needs to have armed men to maintain the security of the state. Pretty clear and sensible to me. So that leads us to the second part, IF we are going to have armed men for protection, 'the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.' Yes, the founders could have tried to imagine how corrupt and power hungry politician might become and only stated 'The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.' but they knew that people lettered in the law would never be so dishonest as to ignore the comma and pretend the amendment...the bill of rights...was added to allow the states or Federal government to maintain the National Guard?
Let's be honest, it is not unclear.
The amendment, the Bill of OUR right states clearly '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.'
A state needs to have armed men to maintain the security of the state. Pretty clear and sensible to me. So that leads us to the second part, IF we are going to have armed men for protection, 'the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.' Yes, the founders could have tried to imagine how corrupt and power hungry politician might become and only stated 'The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.' but they knew that people lettered in the law would never be so dishonest as to ignore the comma and pretend the amendment...the bill of rights...was added to allow the states or Federal government to maintain the National Guard?
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MSG Brad Sand
SP5 Christine Conley -
Because Trump won and they were so sure the fix was in. A lot of those people have never lost an election and now that they have, they have lost their collective minds. I think many are out there because is seems like a cool thing to do. Some are out there because they are paid to be there. A small percent, and part of the trouble makers, are actually anarchist who have been out there for ever, but ignored, and now are getting some actual attention.
Because Trump won and they were so sure the fix was in. A lot of those people have never lost an election and now that they have, they have lost their collective minds. I think many are out there because is seems like a cool thing to do. Some are out there because they are paid to be there. A small percent, and part of the trouble makers, are actually anarchist who have been out there for ever, but ignored, and now are getting some actual attention.
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MSG Brad Sand
SP5 Christine Conley -
Perfect example, what, other than Trump winning the election, were those women marching for? I did find it interesting when the organizers did not let Pro Life Women march but of course that is not political either?
Our rights? Which rights are you, or the protesters, speaking about? What poor treatment? What threats to our safety? Also, NOT halting foreigners from nations without the infrastructure to properly to properly vet is a threat to our safety? You cannot be that insane can you?
NOW where were the same protesters when Obama did the same thing? Where the protests when Carter and Clinton did similar things? Oh right, they are not Trump, so it is not really the actions but the person who did it.
Perfect example, what, other than Trump winning the election, were those women marching for? I did find it interesting when the organizers did not let Pro Life Women march but of course that is not political either?
Our rights? Which rights are you, or the protesters, speaking about? What poor treatment? What threats to our safety? Also, NOT halting foreigners from nations without the infrastructure to properly to properly vet is a threat to our safety? You cannot be that insane can you?
NOW where were the same protesters when Obama did the same thing? Where the protests when Carter and Clinton did similar things? Oh right, they are not Trump, so it is not really the actions but the person who did it.
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MSG Brad Sand
SP5 Christine Conley -
Sorry you are uninformed then. A Pro Life Women's GROUP were absolutely uninvited. That Ma'am, is a fact. Yes, there may have been individual Pro Life women there.
Thank you for proving my point on the rest of it though. Where were these marchers when it was revealed the Clinton foundation giant gender pay inequality? Wait, where were the protesters for the proven sexual assault by Bill Clinton...oh right, he is on the Left, so that is fine. Right?
Sorry you are uninformed then. A Pro Life Women's GROUP were absolutely uninvited. That Ma'am, is a fact. Yes, there may have been individual Pro Life women there.
Thank you for proving my point on the rest of it though. Where were these marchers when it was revealed the Clinton foundation giant gender pay inequality? Wait, where were the protesters for the proven sexual assault by Bill Clinton...oh right, he is on the Left, so that is fine. Right?
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SSG Eddye Royal
I say yes for the reason:
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
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I would leave it alone. There could be unintended consequences with any well intentioned changes. Depending on who is in charge you might get more change than you expected. So, too much risk for too little gain.
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SSG Eddye Royal
I say yes for the reason:
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
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Categorically, no.
The phrase is not confusing. It clearly states that a well regulated Militia is necessary to the security of a free state. We haven't had a well regulated Militia in over a century. Maybe that's why both security and freedom are slipping in this country.
It's not hard to find out what a Militia was when the Amendment was written, and thus what it should be today if we followed the Constitution.
The National Guard is not the Militia. Neither are State Defense Forces. Neither is Bubba playing Army in the woods. The Constitutional Militia is a State government institution comprising at least every free adult male, organized, armed, and disciplined for war. We haven't had that at least since the Dick Act of 1903, but we need to have it.
The phrase is not confusing. It clearly states that a well regulated Militia is necessary to the security of a free state. We haven't had a well regulated Militia in over a century. Maybe that's why both security and freedom are slipping in this country.
It's not hard to find out what a Militia was when the Amendment was written, and thus what it should be today if we followed the Constitution.
The National Guard is not the Militia. Neither are State Defense Forces. Neither is Bubba playing Army in the woods. The Constitutional Militia is a State government institution comprising at least every free adult male, organized, armed, and disciplined for war. We haven't had that at least since the Dick Act of 1903, but we need to have it.
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SSG Eddye Royal
I say yes for the reason:
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
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There's no confusion with the prefatory clause, unless you want there to be. Scalia was correct about this. That people are ignorant of the extent of the militia would better be repaired by a Hamiltonian correction: the states should regulate their militias, by requiring every adult capable of doing so to head for the shooting range one or two weekends per year. Give them some instruction, an M-4, and a hundred rounds, and there's no confusion about almost all adults being in the militia.
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SSG Eddye Royal
I say yes for the reason:
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
1. The Constitution when setup tried to be setup as a broad document that could be used throughout time and is a LIVING one and is NOT static and be modified or updated.
2. Most Americans have lost the idea that we as AMERICANS has always was able to BEAR ARMS.
3. Gun shows on a massive level has become big business, the FBI and 3 day wait period is not working We are labeling all people as Mentally ill, which I don’t believe is the case nor do most Americans.
4. Lastly Congress con not went out of its own way, truth be TOLD when President OBAMA was Elected people went out and purchased at least 12 to 50 guns and all types of rifles, and now these same people gun regulations.
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GySgt Craig Averill
SSG Eddye Royal - Stop with your B.S. Already, try reading it
The Constitution is a LEGAL and BINDING CONTRACT among the Sovereign States and is NOT a Living Document by any stretch of the imagination, no more than your mortgage Contract is. Because all the Sovereign States have signed this CONTRACT it is known as a COMPACT.
Our RIGHTS are GOD GIVEN and non negotiable. Our Centralized Government was INSTITUTED to DEFEND and SECURE our RIGHTS, end of story.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. "
""On every occasion [of Constitutional interpretation] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying [to force] what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, [instead let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, 12 June 1823"
"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined..."
- George Washington, First Annual Address, to both House of Congress, January 8, 1790
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, January 30, 1787
"What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance. Let them take arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, December 20, 1787
"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."
- Thomas Jefferson, Commonplace Book (quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776
"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, August 19, 1785
"The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to to John Cartwright, 5 June 1824
"I enclose you a list of the killed, wounded, and captives of the enemy from the commencement of hostilities at Lexington in April, 1775, until November, 1777, since which there has been no event of any consequence ... I think that upon the whole it has been about one half the number lost by them, in some instances more, but in others less. This difference is ascribed to our superiority in taking aim when we fire; every soldier in our army having been intimate with his gun from his infancy."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Giovanni Fabbroni, June 8, 1778
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
"To disarm the people...[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them."
- George Mason, referencing advice given to the British Parliament by Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adooption of the Federal Constitution, June 14, 1788
"I ask who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers."
- George Mason, Address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 4, 1788
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops."
- Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, October 10, 1787
"Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of."
- James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788
"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country."
- James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789
"...the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone..."
- James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
- William Pitt (the Younger), Speech in the House of Commons, November 18, 1783
“A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves…and include, according to the past and general usuage of the states, all men capable of bearing arms… "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
- Richard Henry Lee, Federal Farmer No. 18, January 25, 1788
"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 ruined.... The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun."
- Patrick Henry, Speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 5, 1778
"This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty.... The right of self defense is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction."
- St. George Tucker, Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1803
"The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms, like law, discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance ofpower is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. And while a single nation refuses to lay them down, it is proper that all should keep them up. Horrid mischief would ensue were one-half the world deprived of the use of them; for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become a prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves."
- Thomas Paine, "Thoughts on Defensive War" in Pennsylvania Magazine, July 1775
"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, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788
"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them."
- Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 1833
"What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty .... Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins."
- Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, I Annals of Congress 750, August 17, 1789
"For it is a truth, which the experience of ages has attested, that the people are always most in danger when the means of injuring their rights are in the possession of those of whom they entertain the least suspicion."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 25, December 21, 1787
"If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers, may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual state. In a single state, if the persons intrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28
"[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-citizens. This appears to me the only substitute that can be devised for a standing army, and the best possible security against it, if it should exist."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28, January 10, 1788
"As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms."
- Tench Coxe, Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789
The Constitution is a LEGAL and BINDING CONTRACT among the Sovereign States and is NOT a Living Document by any stretch of the imagination, no more than your mortgage Contract is. Because all the Sovereign States have signed this CONTRACT it is known as a COMPACT.
Our RIGHTS are GOD GIVEN and non negotiable. Our Centralized Government was INSTITUTED to DEFEND and SECURE our RIGHTS, end of story.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. "
""On every occasion [of Constitutional interpretation] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying [to force] what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, [instead let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, 12 June 1823"
"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined..."
- George Washington, First Annual Address, to both House of Congress, January 8, 1790
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, January 30, 1787
"What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance. Let them take arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, December 20, 1787
"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."
- Thomas Jefferson, Commonplace Book (quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776
"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, August 19, 1785
"The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to to John Cartwright, 5 June 1824
"I enclose you a list of the killed, wounded, and captives of the enemy from the commencement of hostilities at Lexington in April, 1775, until November, 1777, since which there has been no event of any consequence ... I think that upon the whole it has been about one half the number lost by them, in some instances more, but in others less. This difference is ascribed to our superiority in taking aim when we fire; every soldier in our army having been intimate with his gun from his infancy."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Giovanni Fabbroni, June 8, 1778
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
"To disarm the people...[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them."
- George Mason, referencing advice given to the British Parliament by Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adooption of the Federal Constitution, June 14, 1788
"I ask who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers."
- George Mason, Address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 4, 1788
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops."
- Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, October 10, 1787
"Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of."
- James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788
"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country."
- James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789
"...the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone..."
- James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
- William Pitt (the Younger), Speech in the House of Commons, November 18, 1783
“A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves…and include, according to the past and general usuage of the states, all men capable of bearing arms… "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
- Richard Henry Lee, Federal Farmer No. 18, January 25, 1788
"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 ruined.... The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun."
- Patrick Henry, Speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 5, 1778
"This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty.... The right of self defense is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction."
- St. George Tucker, Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1803
"The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms, like law, discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance ofpower is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. And while a single nation refuses to lay them down, it is proper that all should keep them up. Horrid mischief would ensue were one-half the world deprived of the use of them; for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become a prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves."
- Thomas Paine, "Thoughts on Defensive War" in Pennsylvania Magazine, July 1775
"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, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788
"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them."
- Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 1833
"What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty .... Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins."
- Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, I Annals of Congress 750, August 17, 1789
"For it is a truth, which the experience of ages has attested, that the people are always most in danger when the means of injuring their rights are in the possession of those of whom they entertain the least suspicion."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 25, December 21, 1787
"If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers, may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual state. In a single state, if the persons intrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28
"[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-citizens. This appears to me the only substitute that can be devised for a standing army, and the best possible security against it, if it should exist."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28, January 10, 1788
"As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms."
- Tench Coxe, Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789
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