Lysander Spooner Quote

"[F]or everybody has a natural right to defend his own person and property against aggressors, but also to go to the assistance and defence of everybody else, whose person or property is invaded. The natural right of each individual to defend his own person and property against an aggressor, and to go to the assistance and defence of every one else whose person or property is invaded, is a right without which men could not exist on earth."

by:	Lysander Spooner (1808-1887) Political theorist, activist, abolitionist
Source:	Vices are Not Crimes, A Vindication of Moral Liberty (1875)
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Categories:	Arms, Character, Citizenship, Defense, Duty, Individual Rights, Property, Self-Reliance
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Real simple, real straightforward, and real accurate. This understanding of natural law also includes the relationship of a sovereign and his representative.  -- Mike, Norwalk      4
Good common sense. And so, we see standing together, is paramount to safety. know thy friends .  -- Kimo, Lahaina      4
Indeed it is a natural right. So why can't the hysterically insane gun grabbers understand that? They are behaving as did the Nazi Block Captains of the 30's and 40's.  -- J Carlton, Calgary      5
Mike, Kimo,and J said it well.  -- jim k, Austin,Tx      4
Oh boy, he just justified gang wars as a natural right!  -- Anonymous, Reston, VA, US      1 9
That's a very sick and twisted bit of "rationale" you just came up with there Reston. So we should all be sheep because YOU are afraid of gangbangers? Why don't YOU hide in your basement and the rest of us will behave like FREEmen and gangbangers beware! Have a nice day...cowering.  -- J Carlton, Calgary      4
Spooner is an air head and this quote is, well all I can say is duh! Next he will be quoted as saying "the sky is blue"! The amazing thing, though not unxpected, is how Mike, Jim and Carlton fall all over and slobbered on this guy,  -- Waffler, Smith      1 7
Waffler...you give not one logical reason why any of this statement is invalid...typical Liberal Statist. And you are wrong on every natural and moral level.  -- J Carlton, Calgary      3
Kimo, I would add to your statement, "know your enemies" as well. We must stand together and we must always be sure of the positions our candidates hold as far as our rights go, which means, do your homework and find out before heading to the voting booth. Whether voting democrat, republican, libertarian or independent, we must know if they will be a Constitutional representative, (although how a democrat can be, I don't know). P.S. Waffler and Reston are hopeless.  -- Carol, Georgia      2
Forgot to rate. I give this quote a well deserved five.  -- Carol, Georgia      3
How I respected Clarence Thomas when he spoke of "Natural Law" during his hearings.  -- cal, lewisville, tx      2
I never said it was invalid J, just a stupid plattitude. Really did you not know (is this a revelation to you) that you have a right to defend yourself? We live in a complex modern society with serious issues we should be discussing, and people run for office or get involved in politics concerning plattitudes like this, shame on us?  -- Waffler, Smith      3
The right to defend oneself from agression is a natural right because in Nature every creature must be able to defend itself or get eaten. Funny how the same people that call for the taxing of others' property to pay for their government 'entitlements' do not want people to have any power to resist their oppression. Reston, gang violence occurs despite the gun bans in the cities where the violence is worst. In the towns where gun ownership is high, violent crime is low. When guns are outlawed, only outlaws have the guns. History has proven this fact over and over. The collectivists do not want individualists to have any power the 'group' has not permitted him -- in other words, the power to resist the group's oppression. The only way an altruist's ideas of utopia can come to fruition is if everyone ELSE are powerless to resist it.  -- E Archer, NYC      4
My all-time favorite, great quote from Spooner!  -- Logan, Memphis, TN      2
Then Archer you may like to explain why the US has the highest crime rate and incarceration rate in the western world. Countries that have weapon bans are much safer - where is your logic or do you work for the NRA  -- RBESRQ      5
RBESRQ You are off the charts wrong. At one time the "Bobbies" in merry ole England did not carry guns, only billie clubs. The People were armed and the crime rate was reasonably low. The crime rate shot up (pardon the pun), when guns were prohibited. The police then had to be armed because of the high crime rate, which persists today. Archer has it right, when guns are banned, only outlaws have guns. -- "A gun, like any other source of power, is a force for either good or evil, being neither in itself, but dependent upon those who possess it."  -- Carol, Georgia      4
Archer and Waffler, you guys are so full of crap. America, because of it's capitalist regime, has warped your mind into believing it's doing good for the world, when in fact it is having the opposite effect. They very freedom you preach is only given to you because you idiots defend the State. Freedom can never be taken by anyone, for it is a universal right. Praise be to God and Karl Marx.  -- Red Wolf, MN      8
RBE, Switzerland, New Zealand, Canada all have more guns per capita than the US -- and their crime rates are a fraction of the States. The facts do not back up your claim. Gun-related crime is highest in US cities where hand guns have been banned -- D.C., Chicago, Detroit, NYC, LA. Let these bans be thrown out and watch how quickly crime rates drop. And yes in England, the cops were prohibited from carrying their guns while on duty, and the populace was armed as had been the tradition in England for hundreds of years. Crime rates increase instantly once guns are taken from the law-abiding citizens. I suppose we are all to embrace cowardice instead of responsibly being prepared to defend oneself. Guns are used everyday to thwart would-be criminals without even a shot being fired. Ask a woman who was raped if she wished she had a gun at the time. Please tell me which country with weapons bans are safer?  -- E Archer, NYC      4
Red Wolf makes no sense at all. Talk about 'warped'...  -- E Archer, NYC      3
Archer and carol, I'm from Europe none of my friends have guns, in the US they all do - where the hell do you get your facts please provide a source.  -- RBESRQ      1
In the US there were 31,000 firearm related deaths compared with 57 in the UK - you do the math. In the US there are 223 millions guns one for every man and women. In the US nine children die each day for firearms I want what you guys are smoking...  -- RBESRQ      1
RBESRQ...Firearms are the cause of 1500 deaths per year, thats about 4 people (not just children) per day. However, swimming pools do cause nine children to die each day in the U.S. Should they be outlawed as well? More people die of suffocation each year due to respiratory blockages cause by food than by firearms. Should we make it illegal to eat without a medical professional present? More people die from fires too. Maybe we should ban lighters and matches. Nearly 15000 people die each year in the U.S. from falling. I guess we should also ban ladders and two-story buildings. But the number one cause of accidental deaths in this country at over 43000 per year is car accidents. Maybe we should go back to riding horses and walking.  -- Publius      3
RBESRQ When you say you are from Europe, it's like saying you're from the other side of the ocean. Where in Europe are you from? Are you from East or West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Poland, you get the picture. Do you not have guns in Europe because they were Confiscated by an oppressive regime run by a Dictator? That means people in those countries are subjects, not citizens. What would they do to protect themselves if someone was hell-bent on harming them or their family? How does one protect their property in a country that prohibits guns? Is it like the mid-east where all they can do is throw rocks? You ask about sources; do your own research. Lord knows, you seem more than ready to state statistics without a source. Archer and Publius have it right.  -- Carol, Georgia      3
The "A" from Reston, the difference between liberty / rights / freedom and criminal acts is justice. Injuring an innocent third party (by a gang or anyone person) is a crime. Defense, even to a capital action, is/are a just act(s).  -- Mike, Norwalk      2
I live in the UK which similarly to the US is a society riven with the politics of fear, envy, discrimination and poverty. Over here we probably have more privilege and engrained social barriers but less paranoia generally. Throw guns into the mix and you have a recipe for disaster. That's why I feel much safer living in such a political climate without guns. That's why me and my children are much safer living in such a political climate without guns. If there are countries with more or as many guns per capita as the USA and people are not shooting each other or themselves at such an alarming rate then you need to ask the question why? The answer is not because there aren't enough guns - obviously. Publius. There is no logic to your argument. I wasn't aware that death by gunshot was deemed accidental!?  -- Mick, Manchester      6
RBE, recently you posted that you now have a concealed carry permit and you have been giving 5 stars to gun quotes that you gave thumbs down to years before. Please, do share with us your change of heart. Mick, apparently I am safer in NYC than London these days as the violent crime rate there has skyrocketed due to knife and acid attacks -- guns, too, as apparently the criminals kept their guns despite the ban. And of course, no one wants to talk about the massive rise in Muslim violent crime in Western cities.  -- E Archer, NYC      2
US percentage rates number 28 for homicides by fire arms - Italy and Switzerland even have more homicides by fire arms than the US  -- robert, somewhere inthe USA
Robert, RBESRQ is you... why don't you want to tell us WHY you now carry a concealed weapon?  -- E Archer, NYC      1
" If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools. You'll be a Man, my son." " If " by Rudyard Kipling MAGA  -- Ronw13, OR      2
A distillation of the definition of civilization.  -- Patrick Henry, Red Hill      1
-- Mary - MI
Sorta like how BUNDY'S SUPPORTERS brought their guns rallying to his aid against the lawless tyrannic federal bastards, and ran that gauntlet IN THEIR FACES.  -- Mark W, Aurora, CO      1
Yes Mr Archer, knife crime has significantly increased specifically in London amongst young disadvantaged males. But what point are you making? Police numbers and social initiatives have been massively reduced. Are you saying that guns should be made readily available into this political climate!? I’m sure that the UK would experience as much gun crime as the USA if guns were as easy to obtain. There are colllective and social factors that contribute massively to violence that are consistently ignored by you and other contributors.  -- Mick, Manchester      2
Mick, I doubt it -- if the UK allowed gun ownership, even in this climate, the crime rate would most likely resemble Canada -- there are even more guns per capita in Canada than in the US. What makes a 'male' disadvantaged? How is being a man a handicap? Why should victimization trump personal responsibility? Your government is DISempowering the people, making them dependent upon the promises of government, which they cannot keep -- they do not produce anything other than IOU's, and eventually the con falls on its face. The accompanying economic collapse merely concentrates more power in the hands of the powers-that-should-not-be. You are essentially a slave, demanding better conditions of your servitude, not condemning the practice, but wishing it upon everyone else, too.  -- E Archer, NYC      2
You seem like the kind of person to hear a 3 hour long speech and then ask the speaker to repeat it  -- Anonymous, South Windsor      1
Because of our gun culture. For example, New York has some of the strictest gun regulations in the country and still has higher crime rates than the rest of the country.  -- Anonymous, South Windsor      1
Lmao smartest Marx worshipper  -- Anonymous, South Windsor      1
(-; I like it  -- Mike, Norwalk
Men, or women for that matter, do not exist on the earth. The creatures we call humankind are too busy fighting like primitive childish organisms over the available resources to hold these labels of men and women. These creatures will be called men and women when they can control their aggressive degenerate behaviors and respectfully share the available resources fairly.  -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown      2

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