Liberty Quotes - Daily Email History

"The people have a right to keep and bear arms for the common defense. And as, in times of peace, armies are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be maintained without the consent of the Legislature; and the military power shall always be held in an exact subordination to the Civil authority, and be governed by it."

~ Massachusetts Constitution  

~ Thomas Jefferson  

"Self-defense is a part of the law of nature;
nor can it be denied the community,
even against the king himself."

~ William Barclay  

"...The Bill of Rights is a literal and absolute document.
The First Amendment doesn't say you have a right to speak out unless
the government has a 'compelling interest' in censoring the Internet.
The Second Amendment doesn't say you have the right to
keep and bear arms until some madman plants a bomb.
The Fourth Amendment doesn't say you have the right to be secure from
search and seizure unless some FBI agent thinks you fit the profile
of a terrorist. The government has no right to interfere with any
of these freedoms under any circumstances."

~ Harry Browne  

"... in all countries where personal freedom is valued, however much each individual may rely on legal redress, the right of each to carry arms -- and these the best and the sharpest -- for his own protection in case of extremity, is a right of nature indelible and irrepressible, and the more it is sought to be repressed the more it will recur."

~ James Paterson  

"Arms in the hands of individual citizens may be used at individual discretion for the defence of the country, the over-throw of tyranny, or in private self-defence."

~ John Adams  

"It is unreasonable ... to oblige a man not to attempt the defense of his own life."

~ Charles de Montesquieu  

"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  

"[It is a basic principle of a tyrant] to unarm his people of weapons,
money, and all means whereby they resist his power."

~ Sir Walter Raleigh  

"Because this right [of self-defense] cannot be effectively exercised with bare hands, the right to keep and bear arms is the only efficient way to secure the fundamental right of self-defense."

~ Robert Dowlut  

"One sword keeps another in the sheath."

~ George Herbert  

"The prohibition is general. No clause in the Constitution could by any rule of construction be conceived to give congress a power to disarm the people. Such a flagitious attempt could only be made under some general pretense by a state legislature. But if in any blind pursuit of inordinate power, either should attempt it, this amendment may be appealed to as a restraint on both."

~ William Rawle  

"Americans need never fear their government
because of the advantage of being armed,
which the Americans possess over the people
of almost every other nation."

~ James Madison  

"The right of ordinary citizens to possess weapons is the most extraordinary, most controversial, and least understood of those liberties secured by Englishmen and bequeathed to their American colonists. It lies at the very heart of the relationship between the individual and his fellows, and between the individual and his government."

~ Joyce Lee Malcolm  

"How a politician stands on the Second Amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual… as a trustworthy and productive citizen, or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded over, controlled, supervised, and taken care of."

~ Suzanna Gratia Hupp