“Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American. … [T]he unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.”
– Tenche Coxe, Delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress, The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788.
Instead of highlighting dictators and their deceptive methods in disarming their people right before a mass genocide, let’s take look at what some of our Founding Fathers said about guns, the average citizen’s right to own them and who the militia really was and is.
John Adams:
“Arms in the hands of the citizens may be used at individual discretion for the defense of the country, the overthrow of tyranny or private self-defense.”
Thomas Jefferson:
“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”
George Mason:
“When the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually…
“The people have a Right to mass and to bear arms; that a well Regulated militia composed of the Body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper natural and safe defense of a free State. …”
He goes on, “I ask, who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people. …”
Friends, our forefathers did not arm the American people for the purpose of hunting, but rather to protect themselves from those who were doing the hunting: namely in their time, the tyrant King George.
The Second Amendment is only to vouchsafe our right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and to ensure all of the other rights given unto us by our Creator. The wisdom of the framers of the Constitution is found consistent with lessons from the Bible that they used as their bedrock for civil law. The people’s individual protection should always be a primary concern for a government “of the people.”
In a righteous country, self-government reigns by the constraint of Christian morals. The civil government that desires such a monopoly of force (i.e. they are the only ones with guns) is a threat to the lives, liberty and property of its citizens. This government ceases to be “of and for the people.”
President George Washington said:
“From the hour the Pilgrims landed, to the present day, events, occurrences and tendencies prove that to insure peace, security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable … the very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that is good.”
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