From the Integrated Close Combat Forum http://kilogulf59.proboards80.

com

Contemplations of Our Founding Fathers and others on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
by kilogulf59 I have been saying for years, that if you really want to understand what our country should be, and the true meaning of The Constitution, you have to study it from a historical perspective and not necessarily a legal one. Read the quotes of the various Founding Fathers; you will then understand the meaning, intent, and spirit, behind all those apparently confusing (to some) issues in the U. S. Constitution. Be educated and enlightened by these quotes specifically on the 2nd Amendment by our Founding Fathers and a few from the latter opposition to itthe reasonable gun control law typesnow you will understand what the 2nd Amendment means and why it is included in our Constitution. Personally, I would have made it the first one. The Constitution was written so YOU could understand it. We do not require lawyers and politicians to tell us what OUR Constitution saysremember that please.

Our Founding Fathers and others:

"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 Second Amendment of the United States Constitution 1787 A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and welldigested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, George Washington, speech of January 8, 1790 in the Boston Independent supplies. Chronicle, January 14, 1790 " o Free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." Virginia Constitution, Thomas Jefferson, Proposed

"[A]rms 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, Thoughts On Defensive War, 1775 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 - The Federalist, No. 46 One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them. Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, 1796.

From the Integrated Close Combat Forum http://kilogulf59.proboards80.com

"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of 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 bands of regular troops" oah Webster, "An Examination into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution" (1787) in Pamphlets on the Constitution of the United States (P. Ford, 1888) "While the people have property, arms in their hands, and only a spark of noble spirit, the Rev. icholas Collin, most corrupt Congress must be mad to form any project of tyranny." Fayetteville Gazette (N.C.), October 12, 1789 "In a people permitted and accustomed to bear arms, we have the rudiments of a militia, which properly consists of armed citizens, divided into military bands, and instructed at least in part in the use of arms for the purposes of war. Their civil occupations are not relinquished, except while they are actually in the field, and the inconvenience of withdrawing them from their accustomed labours, abridges the time required for military instruction. Militia therefore never amount to perfect soldiers, unless the public exigencies shall have kept them so long together as to absorb the civil, in the military character." William Rawle, A View of the Constitution of the United States of America 153 (2d ed. 1829) "The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all. I like a little rebellion now and then. It is like a storm in the Atmosphere. Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Abigail Adams, February 22, 1787. "The great object is that every man be armed ... Everyone who is able may have a gun." Patrick Henry, 3 Elliot, Debates at 386 "Arms in the hands of citizens [may] be used at individual discretion in private self-defense " John Adams, A Defense of the Constitutions of the Government of the USA, 471 (1788) "A militia, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves " Richard Henry Lee, writing in Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republic, Letter XVIII, January 25, 1788. it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, Richard Henry Lee, writing in Letters from especially when young, how to use them; the Federal Farmer to the Republic, Letter XVIII, January 25, 1788. "The people are not to be disarmed of their weapons. They are left in full possession of them." Zachariah Johnson, 3 Elliot, Debates at 646 (June 25, 1788). 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.

II

From the Integrated Close Combat Forum http://kilogulf59.proboards80.com

"This [Second Amendment] may be considered as the true palladium of liberty .... The right of self defence 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 colour or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction. In England, the people have been disarmed, generally, under the specious pretext of preserving the game: a never failing lure to bring over the landed aristocracy to support any measure, under that mask, though calculated for very different purposes. True it is, their bill of rights seems at first view to counteract this policy: but the right of bearing arms is confined to protestants, and the words suitable to their condition and degree, have been interpreted to authorise the prohibition of keeping a gun or other engine for the destruction of game, to any farmer, or inferior tradesman, or other person not qualified to kill game. So that not one man in five Saint George hundred can keep a gun in his house without being subject to a penalty." Tucker, Blackstone's Commentaries (1803), Volume 1, Appendix, Note D [Section 12 Restraints on Powers of Congress].

Some intelligent thoughts not from our Founding Fathers but from people who actually get it
"The tank, the B-52, the fighter-bomber, the state-controlled police and military are the weapons of dictatorship. The rifle is the weapon of democracy. ot for nothing was the revolver called an "equalizer." Egalite implies liberte. And always will. Let us hope our weapons are never neededbut do not forget what the common people of this nation knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny." Edward Paul Abbey from Abbeys Road 1979. (American author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues and criticism of public land policies.) Mr. Abbey was notoriously opposed to the sport hunting use of firearms. "If you've got to resist [an attacker], your chances of being hurt are less the more lethal your weapon. If that were my wife, would I want her to have a .38 Special in her hand? Yeah." Dr. Arthur Kellerman Published 1986 "study" discouraging people from using guns for self-defense (Health magazine, Mar/Apr 94). A highly acclaimed physician whose studies quantifying the risk of mortality associated with gun ownership attracted criticism from pro-gun organizations and individuals. "Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of citizens to keep and bear arms. This is not to say that firearms should not be very carefully used, and that definite safety rules of precaution should not be taught and enforced. But the right of citizens to bear arms is just one more guarantee against arbitrary government, and one more safeguard against a tyranny which now appears Sen. remote in America, but which historically has proved to be always possible." Hubert Humphrey, Know Your Lawmakers, Guns Magazine, Page 4, Feb. 1960. 38th Vice President of the United States, Democrat from Minnesota.

III

From the Integrated Close Combat Forum http://kilogulf59.proboards80.com

The 2nd Amendment is fairly clear to me and it has nothing to do with the sporting use of arms as our elected officials seem to focus upon. They completely ignore the fact that were armed to protect us from them, this to me makes the need for the 2nd Amendment as valid today as it was when the ink was still wet on the original draftone cannot totally pacify and control an armed populace and they know it. Kenneth A. Giorno 2009 U. S. Citizen Our Founding Fathers knew the real enemy to freedom and a free people was internal not external. That we, as American citizens, have a solemn duty to protect our country, our freedom, and our way of life from the tyrannical oppression of our own leadership, both elected and appointed, this is the sole purpose of the 2nd amendment. Kenneth A. Giorno 2009 U. S. Citizen An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject. Unknown

The point of view of the reasonable gun control law types, the ones who know whats best for you:
"Disperse you rebels; damn you, throw down your arms and disperse." British Major John Pitcairn (order to American militiamen at Lexington, 1775) " o presidential candidate has yet come out for the most effective proposal to check the terror of gunfire: a ban on the general sale, manufacture and ownership of handguns as well as assault-style weapons." The Washington Post editorial entitled "Guns Along the Campaign Trail", Monday, July 19, 1999, Page A18. "The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let's not have any native militia or native police. German troops alone will bear the sole responsibility for the maintenance of law and order throughout the occupied Russian territories, and a system of military strong-points must be evolved to cover the entire occupied Adolf Hitler, dinner talk on April 11, 1942, quoted in Hitler's Table Talk 1941country." 44: His Private Conversations, Second Edition (1973), Pg. 425-426 "I'm convinced that we have to have federal legislation to build on. We're going to have to take one step at a time, and the first step is necessarily-given political realities-going to be a very modest. of course, it's true that politicians will then go home and say, 'This is a great law. The problem is solved. . . .' So then we'll have to start working again to strengthen that law, and then again to strengthen the next law, and maybe again and again. . . . Our ultimate goaltotal control of handguns in the United States-is going to take time. My estimate is seven to ten years. The first problem is to slow down the increasing number of handguns being produced and sold in this country. The second problem is to get handguns registered. And the final problem is to make the possession of all handguns and all handgun ammunition-except for the military, policemen, licensed security guards, licensed sporting clubs, and licensed gun

IV

From the Integrated Close Combat Forum http://kilogulf59.proboards80.com

collectors-totally illegal." [emphasis on "all" in the original] Pete Shields, "A Reporter At Large: Handguns", July 26, 1976, 57-58, in the ew Yorker magazine. (At the time, Mr Shields was the Executive Director of CCH, which changed its name to Handgun Control, Inc. in 1978.) "Why should America adopt a policy of near-zero tolerance for private gun ownership?...who can still argue compellingly that Americans can be trusted to handle guns safely? We think the time has come for Americans to tell the truth about guns. They are not for us, we cannot handle them." The Los Angeles Times Article 28 Dec 93 "The only way to make America safe: go house to house and confiscate every gun." Sylvester Stallone (Access Hollywood, 8 June 98) "Every good Communist should know that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. Mao Zedong The Communist party must control the guns" "If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them 'Mr. and Mrs. America, turn 'em all in,' I would have done it." California Senator Diane Feinstein (60 Minutes episode, CBS) [Sen Feinstein holds a CCP] "We must reverse this psychology (of needing guns for home defense). We can do it by passing a law that says anyone found in possession of a handgun except a legitimate officer of the law goes to jail- period! Carl Rowan Washington, DC Syndicated Columnist (1981 article BEFORE shooting an unarmed trespasser with an unregistered handgun) "as long as authorities leave this society awash in drugs and guns, I will protect my family." Carl Rowan Washington, DC Syndicated Columnist (1988 article titled "At Least They're Not Writing My Obituary", AFTER shooting an unarmed trespasser with an unregistered handgun) "Men possess handguns in order to compensate for sexual dysfunction." Dr. Joyce Brothers (Psychiatrist, TV personality) [her husband is among YC elite that has been issued a permit to carry a concealed handgun] "I don't believe gun owners have rights. The Second Amendment has never been interpreted that way and every court case that's ever come down has shown that." Sarah Brady Chairman, Handgun Control, Inc. ("Guns in America: Part III", Hearst Newspaper 1997, By Holly Yeager)

and a final warning:

"But you must remember, my fellow citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing. It behooves you, therefore, to be watchful in your States as well as in the Federal Government." Andrew Jackson, Farewell Address, March 4, 1837. V