"And I cannot see, why arms should be denied to any man who is not a slave, since they are the only true badges of liberty."
by:
Andrew Fletcher
[Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun] (1655-1716) Scottish writer, politician
Source:
A Discourse of Government with Relation to Militias, 1737
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Under the auspices that each and every, any and all men assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, including a decent respect to the opinions of any and all mankind; and, holding these truths to be self-evident (self-evident to all those who recognize and abide the law), that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these (not limited to these) are Life, Liberty, Property, and the pursuit of Happiness, this is absolutely correct! ! ! Slaves must get special permission or otherwise attempt to purchase temporary Titles of Nobility to carry concealed or otherwise armament. Slaves must register with their masters before acquiring arms. Arms and other regulation in the hands of each and every willing freeman, is a true badge of liberty.
 -- Mike, Norwalk     
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    The US had an armed rebellion to obtain liberty for white land owning males... while at the same time preserving the institutionalized lack of liberty (slavery, being female, being poor, etc). Arms did not solve the slaves problems, rather peaceful protest... the 21st century is not the same world as the 18th century, and the same techniques that gave partial solutions then are not appropriate for now.
     -- Anonymous, Reston, VA, US     
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    Guns are the "only things" keeping us from total dictatorship. Never! Give them up. Watch for the new 2010 tax return requiring you to comply to all sorts of statist crap (Blair Holt) regarding your gun ownership. Register nothing!
     -- J Carlton, Calgary     
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    When guns are made illegal to own in a city, state. or country, crime always goes up. Liberals never seem to get it, or do they ? England is a great example.
     -- jim k, Austin     
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    'A' from Reston, that is one of the better leftist perversions of history that I've ever read. Its obvious you don't have a clue what allodium or even titled land means to the stability of a people. Your list and implications of down trodden are extremely misleading at best. Following your same skewed vain of perception, it wasn't until blacks, females, and poor were institutionalized, the same as the white males, that government ceased being a servant / representative and became a tyrant,, implementing compelled compliance, license, victimless crimes, larceny with impunity, etc. (that enslaved everyone).By your skewed perception, blacks, women, and the poor are what is causing all problems in this county today. An accurate perception of history is that individuals (mostly white males), armed with private regulation, volunteering into formal service, began a revolution that started a chain of events that was liberating to individuals of all races, people of both sexes, and people of all financial status.
     -- Mike, Norwalk     
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    Great point!
     -- E Archer, NYC     
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     -- Ronw13, Oregon      
    People don't carry or own guns as a badge of liberty in the U.S or any other country. Linking gun ownership to some high ideal/constitutional necessity blinds you to the fact that death by gunshot has been monetized in the U.S.
    Jim k - more guns in society = more crime committed involving guns. I don't know what you've been inhaling but I don't think it's gun smoke. Gun crime in the UK as a whole is relatively rare and about 50 or 60 per year are shot dead compared to 13 or 14 thousand in the US. I know where I'd rather get robbed!
     -- Mick, manchester     
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    The primary reason Americans carry guns is because criminals do - it has nothing to do with liberty or the right to carry a gun. It's a carry-over from the wild west days. Most home shootings are carried out by guns in the home. If the burglar has a gun and he/she sees you with a gun then you will get shot. The reason gun crime is very low in the UK is because burglars and criminals, and law enforcement, know they are not going to come across a gun-wielding individuals. Gun ownership in the UK is mostly in gun clubs where the gun is not allowed to leave the premises and lock in a volt. The ease in which guns are available in the US makes it possible for anyone with a grudge or mental condition to carry out ghastly deeds. I'm afraid America has a long way to go before we can make it illegal to own a gun.
     -- Robert, Somewhere in the USA     
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    Mick, a comparison between Switzerland and Honduras is a good start to illustrate gun violence. Switzerland has almost 1 registered gun per every 3 people while it is estimated to have almost one and a half unregistered guns per person. Honduras has a no gun policy. Switzerland has one of the world's lowest gun violence occurrences while Honduras continues to be one of the deadliest places on earth. What is the overwhelming issue? The single greatest issue that is inclusive to all mankind — including the United States - is, the more socialist (reliant on a central statist theocracy for life's dogmas - anti individual sovereign), and the more "Woke" religious dogma becomes the devotion of choice, the more impacted such focused society becomes. Within the narrative of cause and effect, guns are simply a nonsequitur diversion. Said anti “laws of nature and of nature’s God” society, realizes a cause and effect growth - more mentally ill, immoral, dishonest, destructive, enslaved, violent and deadly. The more the “Woke” “national establishment of religion” ingratiates and entrenches itself into the psyche and spirit of an exponentially growing populous of individuals, the greater the fall from the nobility of life, love, truth, peace, prosperity, sanity, individual sovereignty, inalienable rights, liberty, the laws of nature and of nature’s God and justice becomes the new reality.
     -- Mike, Norwalk     
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    Robert, your misdirection, misinformation is a theocratic closed bubble's smoke screen to hide reality. The most recent FBI statistics show there were over nine thousand deaths caused by guns last year. A Florida State study, confirmed by the CDC (hardly NRA supporters) showed there were nearly 2,500,000 (two and a half million) guns used in defense of life during the same period. Constitutionally speaking, long guns / pistols (of all types) are tools of defense against such despotism and tyranny as is/are exponentially growing in the occupying statist theocracy infesting this land.
     -- Mike, Norwalk     
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    Only the slave of convention carries firearms. The truly liberated find answers with heightened senses and abilities attained through educated experiences.
     -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown     
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    Sillik, all those truly liberated throughout history — how were their educated experiences beneficial in addressing the Khans, Ivan the Terrible, Hitler or the theocratic atheists such as Mao and Lenin? The historical heightened senses were most often manifested through a blood lust control.
     -- Mike, Norwalk     
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    Provide one example of a people without arms liberating themselves from oppression?  China is literally a slave state.  Hong Kong has been completely disarmed and now have a communist government that they cannot resist.  This is the natural progression of statist rule.  Look at New Zealand, Australia, and Canada — all adopting fascism openly, their citizens locked down with mandates and more coming for every leftist cause now.  If you ever wondered how the German people could allow a Hitler to rise up, you are witnessing the technique right now throughout the Western world.
     -- E Archer, NYC     
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    Actually, prior to American independence, the King owned all the land in the colonies.  In the British system, no one may own land except the Crown who will grant title to it with conditions, usually a requirement to collect and pay taxes on it.  The Crown may give and may take away because the land is not for sale, it is the King's land, the King's highway, and the King's deer.

    For the first time in recent history, a man could lay claim to land, register his land patent, and no one could lay claim to it or tax it, even the government.  This was unheard of throughout Britain and Europe — even today, the Queen owns all the land of every British Commonwealth and it is not for sale, only for lease by title.

    I also have not found in the law where a woman could not hold land in allodium.  I think the 'women couldn't own land' argument is based on the understanding of British law at that time.
     -- E Archer, NYC     
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    Nonsense, Mick.  Crime is highest in gun-controlled cities.  Heck in England these days, knives and machetes are the tools of the criminals — and gun crime still exists even though guns are illegal.  In the American cities and towns where gun rights are respected, there is very little crime.  Statistics prove over and over again, that an unarmed populace will have higher crime and 'illegal' guns run rampant.  If you want to destroy a city, pass laws that dis-empower the people from taking responsibility for themselves. See NYC, Detroit, Baltimore, SF and other shit-holes.  The government keeps it that way on purpose because victimhood pays off.
     -- E Archer, NYC     
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    "Arms did not solve the slaves problems, rather peaceful protest..." I guess you are unfamiliar with a little dust up known as the American Civil War? That was no "peaceful protest"; and if you think it was marches, boycotts and sit ins (None of which involved slaves) that made the difference in the Black Civil Rights Movement, you are ignoring the fact that it took the arms of the National Guard and the threat of government violence to secure that movement and make events like the forced integration of the University of Mississippi, possible. The first gun control law in this country was to prevent Black slaves from having any sort of weapons. That law was necessary to establish and maintain chattel slavery. 
     -- Sellers, Austin, TX     
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    Interesting how this quote correlates the firearm owner with being a slave owner. You'll  never meet anyone who believes in the elimination of firearms who ever supported slavery. The primitive mentality(firearm supporter) dwells in the stagnated past.  Advanced thinking positively correlates and moves us forward.
     -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown     
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    Additionally: it's a good bet that the contemporary "freedom loving" firearm enthusiast still continues to supports slavery of some sort. Foolishness stays adhesively correlated, as does wisdom.
     -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown     
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