"Both the oligarch and Tyrant mistrust the
people, and therefore deprive them of arms."
- Aristotle
"The 2nd amendment has the clause, "A well-
regulated militia..." and the "bear arms" phrase is strictly a
militia term."
- nobrainmass, The Left Bullies the NRA, 26 December 2012
- nobrainmass, The Left Bullies the NRA, 26 December 2012
If the Second Amendment did not apply to individuals, there would be no need for it since Article I, Section 8 speaks of militias….in not one, but two places:
Article
I, Section 8, Clause 15 states:
"The Congress shall have Power To provide for
calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress
Insurrections and repel Invasions;"
From Mackubin Owens, Professor of National Security Affairs, Senior Fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, United States Naval War College:
For the Founders, the
militia arose from the Posse Comitatus, constituting the people as a whole and
embodying the Anglo-American idea that the citizenry is the best enforcer of
the law. "A militia when properly formed," wrote Richard Henry Lee in
his Letters From the Federal Farmer,
"are in fact the people themselves...and include all men capable of
bearing arms." From its origins in Britain, the Posse Comitatus (meaning
to be able to be an attendant) was generally understood to constitute the
constabulary of the "shire." When order was threatened, the
"shire-reeve," or sheriff, would raise the "hue and cry,"
and all citizens who heard it were bound to render assistance in apprehending a
criminal or maintaining order. The Framers transferred the power of calling out
the militia from local authorities to the Congress.
The Anti-Federalists
were not pleased. They wanted the militia to remain under state control as a
check on the national government. Many feared that an institution intended for local
defence could be dispatched far from home. As Luther Martin objected:
“As it now stands,
the Congress will have the power, if they please, to march the whole militia of
Maryland to the remotest part of the union, and keep them in service as long as
they think proper, without being in any respect dependent upon the government
of Maryland for this unlimited exercise of power over its citizens.” "Genuine Information," 1788.
In the "Calling Forth" Act of 1792
a/k/a The Militia Act of 1792, Congress
exercised its powers under the Militia Clause and delegated to the President
the authority to call out the militia and issue it orders when invasion
appeared imminent or to suppress insurrections. While the act gave the
President a relatively free hand in case of invasion, it constrained his
authority in the case of insurrections by requiring that a federal judge
certify that the civil authority and the Posse Comitatus were powerless to meet
the exigency. The President had also to order the insurgents to disband before
he could mobilize the militia. This was the procedure that President George
Washington followed during the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794.
In 1795, Congress
refined the language authorising the President to federalise the militia:
[W]henever the United
States shall be invaded, or be in imminent danger of invasion from any foreign
nation or Indian tribe, it shall be lawful for the president to call forth such
number of the militia of the state, or states most convenient to the place of
danger, or scene of action, as he may judge necessary to repel such invasion,
and to issue his orders for that purpose to such officer or officers of the
militia, as he shall think proper.
But even such clear
language was insufficient to prevent a challenge to presidential authority
during the War of 1812. At the outset of the conflict, President James Madison
ordered the governors of Connecticut and Massachusetts to provide militia
detachments for the defence of the maritime frontiers of the United States.
These governors, however, were Federalists who opposed the war. They claimed
that they, not the President, had the authority to determine whether an
emergency existed. Governor Caleb Strong of Massachusetts requested an opinion
of his state's Supreme Judicial Court, which concluded that this right was
"vested in the commanders-in-chief of the militia of the several
states." Op. of Justices 8 Mass. 548 (1812)
The issue was finally
resolved by the Supreme Court in 1827 in Martin
v. Mott, 25 U.S. 19. Although the case explicitly concerned the validity of
a court-martial of a militiaman, the decision rendered by Justice Joseph Story
validated the claim that the President had the exclusive right to judge whether
there was an exigency sufficient for calling forth the militia. State
governors, however, retain concurrent authority to call out their respective
militias to handle civil and military emergencies, Houston v. Moore, 18 U.S. 1 (1820).
Article I, Section 8, Clause 16 states:
"The
Congress shall have Power To provide for organizing, ARMING, and
disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be
employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States
respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training
the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress."
The militia, long a
staple of republican thought, loomed large in the deliberations of the Framers,
many of whom were troubled by the prospect of a standing army in times of
peace. For the Founders, a militia, composed of a "people numerous and
armed," was the ultimate guardian of liberty. It was a means to enable
citizens not only to protect themselves against their fellows but also,
particularly for the Anti-Federalists, to protect themselves from an oppressive
government. "The militia is our ultimate safety," said Patrick Henry
during the Virginia ratifying convention. "We can have no security without
it. The great object is that every man be armed....Everyone, who is able, may
have a gun." Both the Pennsylvania and Vermont constitutions asserted that
"the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and
the state...."
The Anti-Federalists
feared that Congress would permit the militia to atrophy, leaving the states
defenceless against the central government. In the Virginia ratifying
convention, George Mason, while advocating a stronger central control over the
militia, nevertheless argued that there was a danger that Congress could render
the militia useless "by disarming them. Under various pretences, Congress
may neglect to provide for arming and disciplining the militia; and the state
governments cannot do it, for Congress has an exclusive right to arm them
&c." The desire to prevent enfeebling state militias, which provided a
check to a standing army, prompted the ratifying conventions to call for an
amendment guaranteeing the right of citizens to bear arms. The First Congress
responded, but the Second Amendment did not remove national control over armed
forces or the state militias.
Federal preemption of
state-militia legislation commenced very early in the history of the Republic.
In Houston v. Moore, 18 U.S. 1
(1820), the Supreme Court stated that the federal government's power over the
militia "may be exercised to any extent that may be deemed necessary by
Congress."
Despite the generally
poor performance of the militia during the Revolution, Federalists recognized
that without a militia, there would be no United States military establishment.
They believed, however, that they could minimise the weaknesses of the militia
by creating a select militia corps in each state and establishing federal
control over officership and training. The ultimate Federalist goal was to turn
the militia into a national reserve of uniform, interchangeable units. In 1792,
Congress passed the Uniform Militia Act, which remained the basic militia law
of the United States until the twentieth century. This act established an
"obligated" militia, based on universal military service. All
able-bodied white men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five were required
to enroll. But the act fell far short of Federalist goals. It did not create select
state corps and, most importantly, did not impose penalties on the states or
individuals for noncompliance. For the most part, the states ignored the
provisions of the act. The abysmal performance of the militia during the War of
1812 ensured the demise of the obligated reserve as established by the Founding
generation.
The obligated militia
was succeeded by the "uniformed" militia, local volunteer units
generally equipped and supported by their own members. In addition, the states
continued to provide volunteer citizen-soldiers when the regular U.S. Army had
to be expanded, as was the case during the Mexican War and the Civil War. After
the Civil War, the uniformed militia reemerged as the National Guard, but,
unhappy with their largely domestic constabulary role, guardsmen lobbied for
the mission of a national reserve. In the Militia Act of 1903 (the Dick Act),
amended and expanded in 1908, Congress divided the eligible male population
into an "organised militia" (the National Guard of the several states)
and a "reserve," or "unorganised," militia.
In response to an
opinion by the Attorney General that the Militia Clause and the Dick Act
precluded the employment of guardsmen outside of United States borders,
Congress included in the National Security Act of 1916 (amended in 1920 and
1933) provisions that explicitly "federalised" the National Guard.
This act, as amended, has continued to govern federal-state military relations.
By giving the United States Army extensive control of National Guard officers
and units, and by making state forces available for duty overseas, the National
Security Act of 1916 essentially stripped the states of all of their militia
powers. It effectively repealed the power of the states to appoint officers by
limiting such appointments to those who "shall have successfully passed
such tests as to...physical, moral and professional fitness as the President
shall prescribe." The law stated that the army of the United States now
included both the regular army and "the National Guard while in the
service of the United States." In Cox
v. Wood, 247 U.S. 3 (1918), the Supreme Court validated the action of
Congress, holding that the plenary power to raise armies was "not
qualified or restricted by the provisions of the Militia Clause."
The World War I draft
completely preempted state sovereignty regarding the militia by drafting
individual guardsmen directly into the United States Army. In The Selective Draft Law Cases (1918),
the Court held that the states held sway over the militia only "to the
extent that such actual control was not taken away by the exercise by Congress
of its power to raise armies."
The transition of the
National Guard into a national reserve reached its completion during the Cold
War. Despite the existence of a large regular army, Guard units were included
in most war plans. But with federal funding, which covered about ninety-five
percent of the costs, came federal control. While governors continued to call
up the Guard to quell domestic disturbances and to aid in disaster relief, they
discovered that their control was trumped by federal demands. For instance, in
protest against United States actions in Central America during the 1980s,
several governors attempted to prevent units from their states from deploying
to Honduras and El Salvador for training. In response, Congress passed a law
"prohibiting a governor from withholding consent to a unit of the National
Guard's being ordered to active duty outside the United States on the ground
that the governor objects to the location, purpose, type, or schedule of that
duty." In such cases as Perpich v.
Department of Defence, 496 U.S. 334 (1990), the Court supported Congress's
position.
With the end of the Cold War, the National Guard's role as a national reserve was called into question. As a result of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, some observers believed that the Guard could return to a domestic constabulary role. On the other hand, extensive military commitments abroad have required the Guard to remain an active element in the United States armed forces.
The protester of the individual's right to bear arms writes "the 'bear arms ' phrase is strictly a militia term."
From a copy of the English Bill of Rights of 1689 - that's exactly a century before the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was drafted, approved and ratified. 100 years! No mention of the military...just Subjects (and not limited to males either) and Protestants!
"Bearing
arms" and other colloquialisms are not rooted in military, but in the
parlance of the day. In 1685, James II forbade Protestants from "bearing
arms" even as he permitted Catholics to bear arms, illegally. It was his
desire to return England to the Catholic Church. Needless to say, his reign was
short and he was overthrown in the Glorious Revolution. The English Bill of
Rights of 1689 make similar references. With regard to Protestants, the EBoR,
specifically, states that Protestants shall have the right to bear arms for
their own defence.
"IF
they wanted INDIVIDUALS to protect and defend each other, they
could easily have written in this."
- nobrainmass, The Left Bullies the NRA, 26 December 2012
- nobrainmass, The Left Bullies the NRA, 26 December 2012
So sayeth one unfamiliar with the Federalist Papers, the minutes of the Constitutional Convention, and the writings of the Founding Fathers.
Put simply: They did.
THE SECOND AMENDMENT:
"A well regulated
militia being necessary to the security of a free state, THE RIGHT OF THE
PEOPLE TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED."
"NO FREEMAN SHALL EVER BE DEBARRED THE
USE OF ARMS."
- Thomas Jefferson,
the author of the Declaration of Independence, 1776
"Those who hammer their guns into
plowshares will plow for those who do not."
-
Thomas Jefferson, Third President of the United States
"Firearms stand next in importance to the
constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone
under independence … from the hour the
Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurrences and tendencies prove
that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally
indispensable … the very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil
interference — they deserve a place of honour with all that's good."
-
George Washington, First President of the United States
"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, American Statesman, 1788
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 their government."
- Thomas Jefferson
"The great object is that every man be
armed...EVERYONE WHO IS ABLE MAY HAVE A GUN."
-
Patrick Henry, American Patriot
"And that the SAID CONSTITUTION BE
NEVER CONSTRUED TO AUTHORISE CONGRESS to infringe the just liberty of the
Press, or the rights of Conscience; OR TO PREVENT THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED
STATES, WHO ARE PEACEABLE CITIZENS, FROM KEEPING THEIR OWN ARMS; …"
- Samuel Adams,
Philadelphia Independent Gazetteer, 20 August 1789, "Propositions
submitted to the Convention of this State"
"Are we at last brought to such
humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for
our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and
under our direction and having them under the management of Congress? If our
defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be
trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in OUR OWN HANDS?"
-
Patrick Henry, American Patriot
"[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 author of the Constitution, The Federalist Papers, No. 46
"… the people are CONFIRMED BY THE NEXT ARTICLE IN THEIR
RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR THEIR PRIVATE ARMS."
- Philadelphia
Federal Gazette, 18 June 1789, Pg. 2, Col. 2 Article on the Bill of Rights
"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
"The governments of Europe are afraid to
trust the people with arms. If they did, the people would certainly shake off
the yoke of tyranny, as America did.”
- James Madison
"Americans need not fear the federal
government because they enjoy the advantage of being armed, which you possess
over the people of almost every other nation.”
-
James Madison
"...to disarm the people (is) the best
and most effective way to enslave them..."
-
George Mason, co-author of the Second Amendment
“Arms in
the hands of citizens [may] be used at individual discretion... in private self-defense..."
- John Adams, A Defence of the Constitution of the Government of the USA, 471, 1788
- John Adams, A Defence of the Constitution of the Government of the USA, 471, 1788
"Before a standing army can rule, the
people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom 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 that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States. A
military force, at the command of Congress, can execute no laws, but such as
the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the
power, and jealousy will instantly inspire the inclination, to resist the
execution of a law which appears to them unjust and oppressive."
-
Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal
Constitution, Philadelphia, 1787
"I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the WHOLE PEOPLE. TO DISARM THE PEOPLE IS THE BEST AND MOST EFFECTUAL WAY TO ENSLAVE THEM."
-
George Mason, co-author of the Second Amendment, during Virginia's
Convention to Ratify the Constitution, 1788
"The
people are not to be disarmed of their weapons. They are left in full
possession of them."
- Zachariah Johnson, Elliot's Debates, Vol. 3, "The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution"
- Zachariah Johnson, Elliot's Debates, Vol. 3, "The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution"
"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, May, 1788.
“One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to
have occasion for them."
- Thomas Jefferson to
George Washington, 1796
"To suppose arms in the hands of citizens, to be used at
individual discretion, except in private self-defense, or by partial orders of
towns, countries or districts of a state, is to demolish every constitution,
and lay the laws prostrate, so that liberty can be enjoyed by no man; it is a
dissolution of the government."
- John Adams, A Defence of the Constitutions of the United States, 475
"The constitutions of most of our States
assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and
duty to be at all times armed."
-- 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 their government."
-- Thomas Jefferson
-- Thomas Jefferson
"The constitution ought to secure a
genuine [militia] and guard against a select militia... 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
"The great object is that every man be
armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun."
-- Patrick Henry, 3 Elliott, Debates at 386
"The best we can hope for concerning the
people at large is that they be properly armed."
- Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers
"A free people ought not only to be armed
and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to
maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them,
which would include their own government."
- George Washington
"Arms in the hands of citizens [may] be
used at individual discretion... in private self-defence..."
- John Adams, A defense of the Constitutions of the Government of the USA, 471 (1788)
"I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is
the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to
enslave them."
- George Mason,
Co-author of the Second Amendment during Virginia's Convention to Ratify the
Constitution, 1788
"One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have
occasion for them."
- Thomas Jefferson to
George Washington, 1796
"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 to
Peter Carr, 1785
We established however some, although
not all its [self-government] important principles. The constitutions of
most of our States assert, that all power is inherent in the people; that they
may exercise it by themselves, in all cases to which they think themselves
competent, (as in electing their functionaries executive and legislative,
and deciding by a jury of themselves, in all judiciary cases in which any fact
is involved,) or they may act by representatives, freely and equally chosen; that
it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."
- Thomas
Jefferson, letter to Justice John Cartwright, June 5, 1824. ME 16:45.
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of
arms."
- Thomas Jefferson,
Virginia Constitution, 1776
"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, May, 1788.
"The people are not to be disarmed of their weapons. They
are left in full possession of them."
-
Zachariah Johnson, Elliot's Debates, vol. 3 "The Debates in the Several
State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution."
"[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 Papers, No. 46.
"To suppose arms in the hands of citizens, to be used at
individual discretion, except in private self-defense, or by partial orders of
towns, countries or districts of a state, is to demolish every constitution,
and lay the laws prostrate, so that liberty can be enjoyed by no man; it is a
dissolution of the government."
- John Adams, A
Defence of the Constitutions of the United States 475
"The best we can help for concerning the people at large is
that they be properly armed."
- Alexander Hamilton,
The Federalist Papers at 184-8
"A free people ought not only to be armed
and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to
maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them,
which would include their own government."
-
George Washington
"One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have
occasion for them."
- Thomas Jefferson to
George Washington, 1796. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson
"It is reported that in some parts of
this State (South Carolina), armed parties are, without proper authority,
engaged in seizing all fire-arms found in the hands of the freedmen. Such
conduct is in clear and direct violation of their personal rights as guaranteed
by the Constitution of the United States, which declares that 'the right of the
people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.'"
- Union General Rufus Saxton reporting to Congress circa 1870
For two examples, both the Pennsylvania and Vermont constitutions asserted that "the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the state" and this was prior to the Doctrine of Selective Incorporation, which applied the Bill of Rights to the states. No, it was not always thus. Massachusetts had it very own state church until 1833 and could fine folks for failing to attend. This did not violate the First Amendment since it only applied to the Federal government at the time.
"The 2nd
neither allows nor prohibits individuals from gun ownership. This should be the
beginning to any discussion regarding guns. And 'the people' refers to the
'collective', NOT individuals."
- nobrainmass, The Left Bullies the NRA, 26 December 2012
- nobrainmass, The Left Bullies the NRA, 26 December 2012
It
recognises (doesn't grant) the RIGHT of the people to bear arms...a RIGHT
that shall NOT be INFRINGED.
You claim that "the people" refers to the collective and not the individual. OK, dearie, let's see how far you want to take that:
THE FIRST AMENDMENT:
"Congress shall make
no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or THE
RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE AND TO PETITION THE GOVERNMENT FOR A
REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES.
According
to your logic, YOU, individually,
have NO
RIGHT TO PROTEST (ASSEMBLE) OR TO PETITION THE GOVERNMENT FOR A REDRESS OF
GRIEVANCES.
Isn't this fun?
Isn't this fun?
THE FOURTH AMENDMENT:
"The RIGHT OF THE
PEOPLE to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants
shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to
be seized."
Since
it is "The RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE,"
then you, individually, have no right to be secure in your "persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures." The right of THE
PEOPLE, collectively, then
"shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable
cause…”
But, since "THE PEOPLE" is collective and not individual, nobrainmass is SOOL.
Purty
kewl, eh, nobrainmass?
The FIFTH and SIXTH Amendments speak to "person." The SEVENTH has to do with diversity and subject matter jurisdiction. The EIGHT is a blanket prohibition on excessive bail, and cruel and unusual punishments. Now, we come to the living constitutionist's favourite amendment:
THE NINTH AMENDMENT:
"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained BY THE PEOPLE."
It
was here - within the penumbras, peripheries, and emanations - that a right to
privacy was found, not for ”THE PEOPLE”,
collectively, as nobrainmass would argue ”THE PEOPLE” means, but for the
individual.
Nobrainmass, shall the Ninth's "THE PEOPLE" be read differently than the Second's "THE PEOPLE" only because you hold the right to an abortion more important than many of us hold our constitutional right to bear arms for defence of self and liberty, ALONG WITH SPORT AND HUNTING?
Is there some Cliff's Notes cipher that will tell us when "THE PEOPLE" is meant to be the collective and when it is meant to be individual? Maybe, the all-seeing-and-all-knowing nobrainmass will deign us with one.
BTW: All of those Second Amendment cases to which you are referring from the 19th century and the 1930s, would never have found a right to privacy for a married couple to use birth control. Are you sure that you want to be locked into their legal analysis?
These people speak like
nobrainmass, the "Do Somethings!" and the "Absolute
Shalls":
"If I could've 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.”
- Senator Diane Feinstein
"We'll take one step at a time, and the
first is necessarily ... given the political realities ... very modest. We'll
have to start working again to strengthen the law, and then again to strengthen
the next law and again and again. Our ultimate goal, total control of handguns,
is going to take time. The first problem is to make possession of all handguns
and ammunition (with a few exceptions) totally illegal."
--Peter Shields, founder of Handgun Control Inc., New Yorker Magazine, 26 June 1976
--Peter Shields, founder of Handgun Control Inc., New Yorker Magazine, 26 June 1976
"The most foolish mistake we could
possibly make would be to allow the subjected people to carry arms. History
shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subjected peoples to carry
arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as
to say that the underdog is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any
sovereignty. So, let’s not have any
native militia or police.”
- Adolph Hitler, Edict of 18 March 1938
"Germans who wish to use firearms should join the SS or the SA. Ordinary citizens don't need guns, as their having guns doesn't serve the State."
- Heinrich Himmler
"We must get rid of all the guns."
- Sarah Brady, Handgun Control, Inc. on the Phil Donahue Show, September 1994
- Sarah Brady, Handgun Control, Inc. on the Phil Donahue Show, September 1994
"All military type firearms are to be handed in
immediately...The SS, SA and Stahlhelm give every respectable German man the
opportunity of campaigning with them. Therefore anyone who does not belong to
one of the above named organizations and who unjustifiably nevertheless keeps
his weapon...must be regarded as an enemy of the national government."
- SA Oberfuhrer Bad Tolz, March 1933
"Waiting periods are only a step. Registration is only a step. The prohibition of private firearms is the goal."
- Janet Reno, US Attorney General
"Banning guns addresses a fundamental right of all Americans to feel safe."
- SA Oberfuhrer Bad Tolz, March 1933
"Waiting periods are only a step. Registration is only a step. The prohibition of private firearms is the goal."
- Janet Reno, US Attorney General
"Banning guns addresses a fundamental right of all Americans to feel safe."
-
Sen. Dianne Feinstein; Associated Press, 18 November 1993
"We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the
rights of ordinary Americans."
- Bill Clinton, USA Today, 11 March 1993
- Bill Clinton, USA Today, 11 March 1993
“I know this was a congressional law that was
passed [allowing guns], but I don’t want to rubber stamp it. I guess just call
me a crazy liberal or something, but I think there are enough guns out there…I
can appreciate my fellow council members trying to ease my mind on this, but if
Superman was carrying a gun I wouldn’t be OK with it.”
-
Nancy Howard
"...the rank and file are usually much
more primitive than we imagine. Propaganda must therefore always be essentially
simple and repetitious."
- Joseph
Goebbels
THE HYPOCRITES....
"And, I know the sense of helplessness that people feel. I
know the urge to arm yourself because that's what I did. I was trained in
firearms. I'd walk to the hospital when my husband was sick. I carried a
concealed weapon. I made the determination that if somebody was going to try to
take me out, I was going to take them with me."
- Senator Dianne
Feinstein, C-Span, 27 April 1995
Nevada Senator Harry Reid was joined by NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, members of Nevada's congressional delegation, state and local leaders over the weekend for the grand opening of the Clark County Shooting Park. Reid led the effort to secure the land and funding needed to build the 2,900-acre world-class shooting park. The new facility will make our communities safer, protect the natural desert environment and provide a place for people of all ages to learn about shooting sports. "Nevadans aimed high when we set out to create the largest and most advanced shooting range in the world," said Reid. "But we kept a steady eye on our target. And today, with great pride, Nevada has hit the bulls-eye."
“When I was Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, I had a lot of bad people after me and I carried a gun every place I went.”
- Senator Harry Reid
Anyone, who laughed at the NRA's suggestion of armed guards in schools, but applauded President William Jefferson Clinton when he called for an armed policeman in every school in 2000 -- on the first anniversary of Columbine, which strangely was not prevented by the Assault Weapons Ban.
A brief, non-definitive list of gun haters that use armed security (Will be growing...Please add oversights in the comments area):
- Tom Hanks
- Nanny Doomberg
- Dianne Feinstein
- Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
- Kim Basinger
- Alec Baldwin
- Madonna
- Rosie O’Donnell
- ChuckYou Schumer
- Michael Moore
Those Who Knew Better....
“Among the many misdeeds of the British rule
in India, history will look upon the act depriving a whole nation of arms as
the blackest.
– Gandhi, “Gandhi:
An Autobiography”, p 446
"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 when 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."
- Judge St. George Tucker in Blackstone's 1768 "Commentaries on the Laws of England."
"Experience should teach us to be most on
our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent. The
greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal,
well-meaning but without understanding."
-
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis
"You need only reflect that one of the
best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to
go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the
struggle for independence."
-
Charles A. Beard
"The Brady Bill's only effect will be to
desensitize the public to regulation of weapons in preparation for their
ultimate confiscation."
-Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 5 April 1996
"Why do judges not consider armed police as
"threatening" to victims of unlawful searches, but *do* consider
armed civilians in their own courtrooms to be threatening to them?"
- John Underhill
"Reread that pesky first clause of the Second Amendment. It doesn't say what any of us thought it said. What it says is that infringing the right of the people to keep and bears arms is treason. What else do you call an act that endangers "the security of a free state"? And if it's treason, then it's punishable by death. I suggest due process, speedy trials, and public hangings."
- L. Neil Smith
"No government can be trusted, that does not trust its own
people with military-style arms of greater weight and power than those
possessed by the central government itself."
- Vin Suprinowicz
"The right to own weapons is the right to be free."
-
A.E. Van Vogt, The Weapon Shops of Isher
"After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns
away from the people who didn't do it."
- William S.
Burroughs
"No law ever written has stopped any robber, rapist or
killer, like cold blue steel in the hands of their last intended victim."
- W. Emerson Wright
"The idea of registering and licensing guns is tantamount to controlling wolves with leash laws. All it does is produce a community that every criminal knows is unarmed."
- Warren Browne
"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms
... 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."
-
Cesare Beccaria
"That which does not kill us makes us shoot back."
- The Hunter
"An armed society is a polite society."
-- Robert A. Heinlein
"The sheer immorality of victim
disarmament aside, one would hope every law enforcement officer out there would
stop to consider all the possible ramifications of kicking in several million
doors because the occupants are well armed."
-
Carl Bussjaeger
And,
just a reminder to the "Do Somethings!" and "Absolute
Shalls":
"The sheer immorality of victim
disarmament aside, one would hope every law enforcement officer out there would
stop to consider all the possible ramifications of kicking in several million
doors because the occupants are well armed."
-
Carl Bussjaeger
Isn’t is ironic that the HOMICIDE RATE IS AT THE LOWEST IT HAS BEEN SINCE THE 1960s
and 49 states now have CCW laws enabling citizens to carry the means to
protect themselves (soon all 50 will given Illinois’ law has been held
unconstitutional by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals) and, yet, the
Assault Weapons Ban a/k/a The Prohibition On Certain Guns With Cosmetic
Changes That Make Them Look Skeery And Are Painted Skeery (And Racist!)
Black Act EXPIRED EIGHT YEARS AGO?
Remember the “holocaust” that Dianne Feinstein predicted would occur if the expiration of the AWB was allowed to happen?
Yeah, me neither.
Murder Rate Per 100,000 Inhabitants From 1900-2011
1900: 1.2…………………..1910: 4.6
1901: 1.2…………………..1911: 5.5
1902: 1.2…………………..1912: 5.4
1903: 1.1…………………..1913: 6.1
1904: 1.3…………………..1914: 6.2
1905: 2.1…………………..1915: 5.9
1906: 3.9…………………..1916: 6.3
1907: 4.9…………………..1917: 6.9
1908: 4.8…………………1918: 6.5
1909: 4.2…………………1919: 7.2
1902: 1.2…………………..1912: 5.4
1903: 1.1…………………..1913: 6.1
1904: 1.3…………………..1914: 6.2
1905: 2.1…………………..1915: 5.9
1906: 3.9…………………..1916: 6.3
1907: 4.9…………………..1917: 6.9
1908: 4.8…………………1918: 6.5
1909: 4.2…………………1919: 7.2
1920: 6.8…………………..1930: 8.8
1921: 8.1…………………..1931: 9.2
1922: 8.0…………………..1932: 9.0
1923: 7.8…………………..1933: 9.7
1924: 8.1…………………..1934: 9.5
1925: 8.3…………………..1935: 8.3
1923: 7.8…………………..1933: 9.7
1924: 8.1…………………..1934: 9.5
1925: 8.3…………………..1935: 8.3
1926: 8.4…………………..1936: 8.0
1927: 8.4…………………..1937: 7.6
1928: 8.6…………………..1938: 6.8
1929: 8.4…………………..1939: 6.4
1927: 8.4…………………..1937: 7.6
1928: 8.6…………………..1938: 6.8
1929: 8.4…………………..1939: 6.4
1940: 6.3…………………..1950: 5.3
1941: 6.0…………………..1951: 4.9
1942: 5.9…………………..1952: 5.2
1943: 5.1…………………..1953: 4.8
1944: 5.0…………………..1954: 4.8
1945: 5.7…………………..1955: 4.5
1946: 6.4…………………..1956: 4.6
1947: 6.1…………………..1957: 4.5
1948: 5.9…………………..1958: 4.5
1949: 5.4…………………..1959: 4.6
1941: 6.0…………………..1951: 4.9
1942: 5.9…………………..1952: 5.2
1943: 5.1…………………..1953: 4.8
1944: 5.0…………………..1954: 4.8
1945: 5.7…………………..1955: 4.5
1946: 6.4…………………..1956: 4.6
1947: 6.1…………………..1957: 4.5
1948: 5.9…………………..1958: 4.5
1949: 5.4…………………..1959: 4.6
…..
1960: 5.1…………………..1970: 7.9
1961: 4.8…………………1971: 8.6
1962: 4.6….…..………….1972: 9.0
1963: 4.6…………………1973: 9.4
1964: 4.9…………………..1974: 9.8
1965: 5.1…………………..1975: 9.6
1966: 5.6…………………..1976: 8.7
1967: 6.2…………………..1977: 8.8
1968: 6.9…………………..1978: 9.0
1961: 4.8…………………1971: 8.6
1962: 4.6….…..………….1972: 9.0
1963: 4.6…………………1973: 9.4
1964: 4.9…………………..1974: 9.8
1965: 5.1…………………..1975: 9.6
1966: 5.6…………………..1976: 8.7
1967: 6.2…………………..1977: 8.8
1968: 6.9…………………..1978: 9.0
1969: 7.3…………………..1979: 9.8
1980: 10.2...………………1990: 9.4
1981: 9.8…………………..1991: 9.8
1982: 9.1…………………..1992: 9.3
1983: 8.3…………………..1993: 9.5
1984: 7.9…………………..1994: 9.0 - AWB signed
1985: 8.0…………………..1995: 8.2
1986: 8.6…………………..1996: 7.4
1987: 8.3…………………..1997: 6.8
1988: 8.4…………………..1998: 6.3
1989: 8.7…………………..1999: 5.7
2000: 5.5…………………2010: 4.2
2001: 5.6…………………..2011: 4.7
2002: 5.6
2002: 5.6
.2003: 5.7
2004: 5.5 - AWB expired
2005: 5.6
2006: 5.7
The homicide rate peaked at 10.2% in 1980.
4.7 homicide per 100,000 puts 2011 somewhere between 1956/1959/1962/1963 (with 4.6%) and 1908/1953/1954/1961 (with 4.8%).
In 2011, the Department of Justice announced that the homicide rate in 2010 dropped to 4.2 homicides per 100,000 residents AND, THIS WAS SEVEN YEARS AFTER THE Assault Weapons Ban a/k/a The Prohibition On Certain Guns With Cosmetic Changes That Make Them Look Skeery And Are Painted Skeery (And Racist!) Black Act of 1994 EXPIRED.
Far from JUST being "The lowest US homicide rate in four decades," THE NATIONAL HOMICIDE RATE IN 2010 WAS THE LOWEST RATE SINCE 1909, according to collected data from the FBI, Census, state records, etc.
Chart from 1900-2010:
The AWB or CCW Laws: Which Has Had More Of An Impact On The Murder Rate?
This is the kind of race crap, which prevents honest discussion:
RWM: "Guess when the first school massacre took place?"
Allidunce: "1999. More than 4 deaths"
RWM: "No. 1764 - Greencastle, Pennsylvania: 4 Lenape American Indians entered a log schoolhouse. Inside were the schoolmaster, Enoch Brown, and twelve young students. Brown pleaded with them to spare the children before being shot and scalped. The warriors then began to tomahawk and scalp the children; killing nine or ten of them (reports vary). Two children who had been scalped survived. 11 dead."
Allidunce: This kind of post promotes racism toward Native Americans.
RWM: Moron, it is the first school shooting/massacre in the American colonies. Should we not talk about gun crime when minorities are the killers?
[Evidently,
the answer is "yes." 453 school-aged children have been shot in
Chicago this year. 63 have died: That's 2.42 TIMES the number killed
at Newtown Since 2008, more than 530 people under the age of 21 have
been shot and killed in Chicago.
Murder in Chicago is, strangely, a racist subject. The mainly MSM won't touch the subject because most victims are black and they don't want to be accused of racism (Outrage to the MSM: "Are you saying that blacks are more violent?!?!?! Huh? Huh?"). To be fair, white also sells. Jon Benet Ramsey, probably, would not have drawn the ratings had she been black. Just making an honest observation, not an approval of such coverage.
The Race-Pimps like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson will hue-and-cry about Trayvon Martin, but a Trayvon is shot every day in Chicago...by another Trayvon. We know what the problems are, but heaven help a Bill Cosby if he dares to speak the causes that shall not be named.
I love the children of Newtown and Chicago and I feel the pain that everyone does, but when is the MSM going to start covering the deaths in Chicago and elsewhere. It is not an issue of gun control. Chicago has had some of the most draconian gun control laws in the nation.]
One of the most prescient men ever to serve in American politics:
Murder in Chicago is, strangely, a racist subject. The mainly MSM won't touch the subject because most victims are black and they don't want to be accused of racism (Outrage to the MSM: "Are you saying that blacks are more violent?!?!?! Huh? Huh?"). To be fair, white also sells. Jon Benet Ramsey, probably, would not have drawn the ratings had she been black. Just making an honest observation, not an approval of such coverage.
The Race-Pimps like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson will hue-and-cry about Trayvon Martin, but a Trayvon is shot every day in Chicago...by another Trayvon. We know what the problems are, but heaven help a Bill Cosby if he dares to speak the causes that shall not be named.
I love the children of Newtown and Chicago and I feel the pain that everyone does, but when is the MSM going to start covering the deaths in Chicago and elsewhere. It is not an issue of gun control. Chicago has had some of the most draconian gun control laws in the nation.]
One of the most prescient men ever to serve in American politics:
"From the wild Irish slums of the 19th
century Eastern seaboard to the riot-torn suburbs of Los Angeles, there is one
unmistakable lesson in American history: a community that allows a large number
of young men to grow up in broken families, dominated by women, never acquiring
any stable relationship to male authority, never acquiring any set of rational
expectations about the future - that community asks for and gets chaos.”
That's it...in a nutshell.
