| 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday. — Author Unknown
911: Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone. — Author Unknown
Accidents hurt; safety doesn't. — Author Unknown
According to the Department of Justice, firearms account for less than 10% of all violent crime. Over 64% of all violent crime is committed with bare hands, and another 26% is committed with everyday items like hammers, knives, bottles and crowbars. In the April 1996 Department of Justice report "Firearm Injury from Crime" the DoJ stated "Firearm-related crime and resulting injury is a relatively rare event". But wait, ten percent does involve firearms you say? Well, given there is some 9 million violent crimes a year, that means firearms are used in about 900 thousand attacks each year! What would be wrong with gun control if it reduced that number? The answer is simple, but not presented by the news very often. The FBI and Department of Justice both have documented that each year roughly 2.5 MILLION Americans are able to stop a violent attack because they had a gun to defend themselves. —
www.themarksman.com/guns.html
According to the National Crime Victimization Surveys, people who use guns to defend themselves are less likely to be attacked or injured than people who use other methods of protection or don't defend themselves at all. — Phil Valentine, WorldNetDaily.com, 12 Sep 2003
A citizen who shirks his duty to contribute to the security of his community is little better than the criminal who threatens it. — Robert Boatman
A cold gun barrel is bad for the soul. — Blaine Nay
A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity. — Sigmund Freud (General Introduction to Psychoanalysis,
1952)
A federal court of appeals has unambiguously held that the right to keep and bear arms belongs to individual citizens and rejected the preposterous but judicially repugnant theory that Second Amendment rights belong to governments or can only be exercised in the services of a government. — Nelson Lund, law professor at Mason University
A firearm shall not be determined to be particularly suitable for sporting purposes solely because the firearm is suitable for use in a sporting event. — Clause in HR-1022 submitted in 2007 by US Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
A free man must have unrestricted rights to own and use personal weapons, in the defense of his family, his home, and his own person, against any kind of marauder -- whether the marauder be a soldier of an invading army, or an agent of an internal political conspiracy, or a criminal. — (Dan Smoot Report, 16 Mar 1964)
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
A free people ought to be armed. — George Washington, 7 Jan 1790, published in Boston Independent Chronicle on 14 Jun 1790
After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn't do it. I sure as hell wouldn't want to live in a society where the only people allowed guns are the police and the military. — William S. Burroughs (1914-1997), 1992
After hearing the Second Amendment verbatim, 73 percent in an ABCNEWS.com poll said it guarantees the right to individual gun ownership. — Daniel Merkle, ABC News, 14 May 2002
A Government resting on a minority, is an aristocracy not a Republic, and could not be safe with a numerical and physical force against it, without a standing army, and enslaved press, and a disarmed populace. — James Madison
A gun in the hands of a bad man is a very dangerous thing. A gun in the hands of a good person is no danger to anyone except the bad guys. — Charlton Heston, 15 Sep 1997
A gun in the hands of a free man frightens and angers the autocrat, not because he fears the power of the gun, but, rather, the spirit of the man who holds it. — Author Unknown
A gun is like a seatbelt. We don't wear seatbelts in hopes of getting into a car wreck or in paranoid fear of an accident. Nor are hopes or paranoia why we carry guns. Both are worn 'just in case' and if all goes well, neither will ever be used. Laws that force us to unbuckle our seatbelts need to be repealed. — Jeff Knox, FirearmsCoalition
A gun isn't supposed to be comfortable; it's supposed to be comforting. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
A kind word only goes so far, a kind word and a gun goes a lot further. — Al Capone, 1924
All I'm asking is that I be allowed to be the last line of defense. Let me -- not an F-16 crew -- decide where to put down the airplane. — Mitchell Bell, airline pilot, quoted in USA Today
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 of Bad Tolz, March, 1933
All people have an unalienable right to defend their lives and their liberty from whomever would harm them, and with whatever means necessary. — Charlton Heston
All persons shall bear arms, and every male person shall have in continual readiness a good muskitt or other gunn, fitt for service. — Connecticut gun code of 1650
All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse, and a good wife. — Daniel Boone
Although difficult for modern man to fathom, it was once widely believed that life was a gift from God, that not to defend that life when offered violence was to hold God's gift in contempt, to be a coward and to breach one's duty to one's community. — Jeffrey Snyder (A Nation of Cowards, 1993)
Although the weapons banned by this [assault weapons ban] legislation were used only rarely in gun crimes before the ban, supporters felt that these weapons posed a threat to public safety because they are capable of firing many shots rapidly. They argued that these characteristics enhance offenders’ ability to kill and wound more persons and to inflict multiple wounds on each victim, so that a decrease in their use would reduce the fatality rate of gun attacks....The ban has failed to reduce the average number of victims per gun murder incident or multiple gunshot wound victims. — National Institute of Justice, March 1999 report on “Impacts of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban: 1994-1996"
A man who loves weapons is no more abnormal than a woman who loves babies. Countless millennia of hunting and war fighting have programmed man with the knowledge that a weapon means life. This stark realization repels some - they are the hoplophobes. — Paul Kirchner
America doesn't trust you with our 21-year-old daughters, and we sure don't trust you with our guns. — Charlton Heston, President of the NRA, Jun 1998, delivering a jab at US President William Clinton
Americans have the right and advantage of being armed -- unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. — James Madison, The Federalist Papers #46
Americans need never fear their country because of the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation. — Thomas Jefferson
A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves...and include all men capable of carrying arms....To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms. — Richard Henry Lee, Additional Letters From The Federal Farmer, 1788
Among God's great gifts to humanity are fine weapons, beautiful women, great books, fast cars, and good music. In return for these wonders we owe to Him clear thought, good humor, courage, and kindness. — Jeff Cooper
Among other evils which being unarmed brings you, it causes you to be despised. — Charlton Heston
Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of its arms as the blackest. — Mohandas Gandhi, 1927
Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: first, a right to life, secondly to liberty, thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can. — Samuel Adams
An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject. — Author Unknown
An armed society is a polite society. — Robert A. Heinlein
And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies. And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion. —
Book of Mormon (Alma 43:46-47)
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. — Bible, Revelations 19:11
And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies. And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion. — Book of Mormon, Alma 43:46-47
And to shoot the paperboy and the relative coming home late at night. — Sam Donaldson, ABC News reporter on why he thinks gun owners have guns, "This Week", 22 Apr 2007
And we should -- then every community in the country could then start doing major weapon sweeps and then destroying the weapons, not selling them. — William J. Clinton, President and sworn defender of the US Constitution
And what's the real problem here? The problem is, we have another culture in our country that i think has gotten confused about its objectives. We have a huge hunting and sport shooting culture in America. — Bill Clinton, 27 Apr 1999
An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it. — Jeff Cooper
Any 18 year old can walk into a gun store, pawn shop or gun show and buy a handgun. — Al Gore, US Vice President, almost 30 years after the Gun Control Act of 1968 set the age to buy a handgun from a dealer at 21
Anyone who is aware of his environment knows that the peril of physical assault does exist, and that it exists everywhere and at all times. The police, furthermore, can protect you from it only occasionally. — Colonel Jeff Cooper
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against its government. — Edward Abbey
A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, and for lawful hunting and recreational use. — Article 3 of the West Virginia state constitution
A people who mean to continue free must be prepared to meet danger in person, not to rely upon the fallacious protection of mercenary armies. — Rep. Randolph, 5 Jan 1800, debating in Congress the merits of militias vs. standing armies
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, 3 J. Elliot, Debates in the Several State Conventions 45, 2d ed. Philadelphia, 1836
A righteous man who falters before the wicked is like a murky spring and a polluted well. — Bible, Proverbs 25:26
Arms are the true badges of liberty. The possession of arms is the distinction of a free man from a slave. — Andrew Fletcher, A Discourse of Government with relation to Militias, 1598
Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve Order in the world as well as property....Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them. — Thomas Paine (Thoughts on Defensive War, 1775)
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. — Falsely attributed to John Adams
Arms, like laws, discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe and preserve order. — Thomas Paine, 1775
Article I, sec. 1 of the Constitution states clearly that: “All legislative Powers herein granted [by we the people] shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.” Since “That to secure these rights [unalienable, not constitutional {read Amend. 9}], Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, ....” all laws should be so constructed as to protect those Rights for Citizens in good standing, not limit them! Our need is to remove all laws of oppression or suppression, not amend them with other laws! — Roger Price, Utah Candidate for Congress, 2006
As a State of Indiana Senator of 28 years, I am well aware that the laws we pass have no impact on individuals intent on doing harm. As a small business owner, I am also aware of the deterrent effect of allowing law-abiding armed persons into my business as an offset to those who have no regard for the laws my fellow legislators and I have passed. — Johnny Nugent, Indiana State Senate
As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people duly before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow-citizens, the people are confirmed by the next article [the Second Amendment] in their right to keep and bear their private arms. — Tench Coxe ("Remarks on the First Part of the Amendments to the Federal Constitution," Philadelphia Federal Gazette,
18 Jun 1789, under pseudonym: "A Pennsylvanian")
A shoot-out is better than a massacre! — David M. Bennet
A short-barreled handgun is often ideal for self-defense. Women, who may be subject to more non-lethal attacks than lethal, may chose a diminutive handgun of small caliber. — Gordon N. Johnson, Chief of Police of Minneapolis, Minnesota commenting on so-called Saturday-night specials, 3 Jan 1974
Assault is a kind of behavior, not a kind of hardware (ie "assault" weapon), and that any gun pointed at you is an assault, a serious felony crime, and punishable with heavy prison sentences. — Alan Korwin
Assault weapons in the hands of civilians exist for no reason but to inspire fear and wreak deadly havoc on our streets — President Bill Clinton, 1997
A state may not impose a charge for the enjoyment of a right granted by the Federal Constitution... A person cannot be compelled 'to purchase, through a license fee or a license tax, the privilege freely granted by the Constitution.' — Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105 1943 (US Supreme Court)
As the Founding Fathers knew well, a government that does not trust its honest, law-abiding, taxpaying citizens with the means of self-defense is not itself worthy of trust. Laws disarming honest citizens proclaim that the government is the master, not the servant, of the people. — Jeff Snyder
A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercise, 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 the constant companion of your walks. — Thomas Jefferson's advice to his 15-year-old nephew, Peter Carr, 1785. ME 5:85, Papers 8:407
As we used to teach in the spook business, carry a .25 if it makes you feel good, but do not ever load it. If you load it you may shoot it. If you shoot it you may hit somebody, and if you hit somebody - and he finds out about it - he may be very angry with you. — Jeff Cooper
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. — Lucius Annaeus Seneca
As you know, my position is we should ban all handguns, get rid of them, no manufacture, no sale, no importation, no transportation, no possession of a handgun. — John H. Chafee, US Senator (R-RI)
Author and gun enthusiast Jeff Cooper coined hoplophobia about 20 years ago, combining the Greek words "hoplon" for weapon and "phobos" for terror. Basically, it means having an irrational fear of guns. — Dennis Romboy, Deseret Morning News, 29 Dec 2003
A very large percentage of people who carry a concealed handgun do not carry it as a weapon. They carry it as a good luck charm. They think of it as a magic talisman that wards off evil, or as a rabbit's foot. In that context, a .25 or a .32 works just as well as a major caliber sidearm. Personally, I carry a 1911 and 2 spare mags everywhere, all the time. It does not interfere with my life at all. — Tom Givens, Rangemaster
A victim who fights back makes [violent crime] impractical. It is true that a victim who fights back may suffer for it, but one who does not almost certainly will suffer for it. — Jeff Cooper
A well-educated electorate, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right to the people to keep and read books shall not be infringed. Does that mean only well-educated people have a right to own and read books? Then how can this -- 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. ...possibly mean only members of the militia have a right to own weapons? — Claire Wolfe
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. — Second Amendment to the US Constitution
A well-regulated population being necessary to the security of a police state, the right of the government to keep and destroy arms shall not be infringed. — Vin Suprynowicz with a cynical look at how gun-grabbers read the second amendment
A woman who demands further gun control legislation is like a chicken who roots for Colonel Sanders. — Larry Elder
Banning guns addresses a fundamental right of Americans to feel safe. — Dianne Feinstein, US Senator (D-CA, Associated Press, 18 Nov 1993)
Banning guns is an idea whose time has come. — Joseph Biden, US Senator (Associated Press, 18 Nov 1993)
Ban the damn things (guns). Ban them all. You want protection? Get a dog. — Molly Ivins, columnist, 19 Jul 1994
Because less than twenty years ago I was the target of a terrorist group. It was the New World Liberation Front. They blew up power stations and put a bomb at my home when my husband was dying of cancer. And the bomb didn't detonate....I was very lucky. But, I thought of what might have happened. Later the same group shot out all the windows of my home....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. — Diane Feinstein, US Senator, 27 Apr 1995
Be kind and courteous to everyone you meet but have a plan to kill them if necessary. — Fr. Frog
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, by any pretense, raised in the United States. — Noah Webster, An Examination into the leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, 1787
Believing that the [second] amendment does not authorize an individual's right to keep and bear arms is wrong. The right to arms is an individual right. The military connotation of bearing arms does not necessarily determine the meaning of a right to arms. If all it meant was the right to be a soldier or serve in the military, whether in the militia or in the Army, it would hardly be a cherished right and would never have reached constitutional status in the Bill of Rights. The 'right' to be a soldier does not make much sense. Life in the military is dangerous and lonely, and a constitutionally protected claim or entitlement to serve in uniform does not have to exist if they so chose. Moreover, the right to bear arms does not necessarily have a military connotation because Pennsylvania, whose constitution of 1776 first used the 'right to arms,' did not even have a state militia. In Pennsylvania, therefore, the right to arms was devoid of military significance. Moreover, such significance need not necessarily be inferred even with respect to states that had militias. Bearing arms could mean having arms. Indeed, Blackstone's Commentaries spoke expressly of the 'right to have arms.' An individual could bear arms without being a soldier or militiaman. — Leonard Levy (Origins of the Bill of Rights, p 134-135)
Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of. Notwithstanding the military establishments in the several kingdoms of Europe, which are carried as far as the public resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. And it is not certain that with this aid alone they would not be able to shake off their yokes. But were the people to possess the additional advantages of local governments chosen by themselves, that could collect the national will and direct the national force, and of officers appointed out of the militia, by these governments and attached both to them and to the militia, it may be affirmed with the greatest assurance that the throne of every tyranny in Europe would be speedily overturned in spite of the legions which surround it. — James Madison, "The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared," 46 Federalist New York Packet, 29 Jan 1788
Best quote I ever heard was from my wife when I presented her with a brand new Beretta Tomcat. She looked it over and then said, "I don't want this. The hole in the end is not big enough. I want one with a big hole in the end." — Grampster
Blaming guns for violence is like blaming spoons for Rosie O'Donnell being fat. — Author Unknown
Blessed be the Lord my rock who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle. — Bible, Psalms 144:1
Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of arms. — Aristotle (384-322BC)
But God led the people about, by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt. — Bible (American Standard Version), Exodus 13:18
But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. — Bible, 1 Timothy 5:8
But it ought always to be held prominently in view that the safety of these States and of everything dear to a free people must depend in an eminent degree on the militia. Invasions may be made too formidable to be resisted by any land and naval force which would comport either with the principles of our Government or the circumstances of the United States to maintain. In such cases recourse must be made to the great body of the people, and in a manner to produce the best effect. It is of the highest importance, therefore, that they be so organized and trained as to be prepared for any emergency. — James Monroe, US President, first inaugural address, 1817
By calling attention to 'a well regulated militia,' the 'security' of the nation, and the right of each citizen 'to keep and bear arms,' our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy. Although it is extremely unlikely that the fears of governmental tyranny which gave rise to the Second Amendment will ever be a major danger to our nation, the Amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic civilian-military relationships, in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country. For that reason I believe the Second Amendment will always be important. — John F. Kennedy, US President, Apr 1960
By disarming law-abiding citizens who are licensed to carry concealed handguns virtually anywhere else, misguided officials create dangerous and reckless "supposedly gun-free zones," where only criminals will be armed. — Alan Korwin
Carrying a concealed sidearm is legal in about forty states. Most require training and a criminal background check to receive a license to carry. Interestingly, the one state which requires no license to carry, Vermont, has one of the lowest rates of violent crime in America. Equally curious is that Washington, D.C., where not only concealed carry but any firearms ownership is illegal, has one of the highest rates of violent crime. — Oleg Volk (www.a-human-right.com)
Carrying a gun is a social responsibility....A citizen who shirks his duty to contribute to the security of his community is little better than the criminal who threatens it. — Robert H. Boatman
Carrying a loaded gun with the ability and will to use it is not a casual fling meant to bring some excitement into your boring life. It is an all-embracing lifestyle and must take precedence over your respect for law, your fear of social criticism, your love of humanity, your wardrobe and your drinking habits....‘Liberty or death,’ the meaning of which is clear and absolute, is but a trivial phrase if you do not carry a gun. For freedom-loving Americans, the five most important words in the English language are, and always have been – from my cold dead hands. — Robert H. Boatman
Certainly, one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of citizens to keep and bear arms. This is not to say that firearms should not be very carefully used and that definite safety rules of precaution should not be taught and enforced. But the right of citizens to bear arms is just one more guarantee against arbitrary government, and one more safeguard against a tyranny which now appears remote in America, but which historically has proved to be always possible. — Hubert Humphrey (Know Your Lawmakers, Guns, Feb 1960, p 4)
Civilized people are taught by logic, barbarians, by necessity, communities by tradition; and the lesson inculcated even in wild beasts by nature itself. They learn that they have to defend their own bodies and persons lives from violence of any and every kind by all means within their power. — Cicero
Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American. — Tench Coxe
Constitutions are made of paper; Bayonets are made of steel. — French Aphorism
Criminals cannot legally possess guns now, so any new gun-confiscation law cannot deprive them of anything that present law does not do. And, of course, criminals would not voluntarily turn in their guns. — Phoebe Courtney (Gun Control Means People Control, 1974, p 51)
Criminals love gun control, it makes their job safer. — Author Unknown
Dangerous laws created by well intentioned people today can be used by dangerous people with evil intentions tomorrow. — Alan Eppers
Democracy is defended in 3 stages: Ballot Box, Jury Box, Cartridge Box. — Ambrose Bierce
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote! — Benjamin Franklin, 1759
Despite Iraqis owning machine guns and the country still not under control, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pointed out that Baghdad is experiencing fewer murders than Washington DC, where handguns are banned. — Todd Woodard, GunTests, Sep 2003, p 2
[D]etached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of a knife. — Brown v. United States, 256 U.S. 335, 343, 41 S.Ct. 501, 65 L.E.2d 961 (1921).
Dispassionate scholarship suggests quite strongly that the right of the people to keep and bear arms means just that. There is no need to deceive ourselves as to what the original Second Amendment said and meant. — Antonin Scalia, US Supreme Court
Don't die stupid. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
Don't forget, incoming fire has the right of way. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to Fight, he'll just kill you. — Author Unknown
Don't shoot fast, shoot good. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
Don't throw rocks at people with guns. Don't stand next to people who throw rocks at people with guns. — Fr. Frog
Do something. It may be wrong, but do something. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
Each of us has a natural right -- from God -- to defend his person, his liberty, and his property. These are the tree basic requirements of life, and the preservation of any one of them is completely dependent on the preservation of the other two. — Frederick Bastiat, French economist (The Law, p 6)
Each year, hunter's spend more on food for hunting trips than American's spend annually for Domino's Pizza. — www.huntersurvey.com
Eighty-five percent of Americans believe people have the right to use firearms to defend themselves in their homes, 64% favor allowing law-abiding citizens to carry firearms for protection outside their homes, and 72% prefer stiffer sentences for criminals who use guns in crime, rather than more gun laws. — Lawrence Research, National Survey of Registered Voters,
1998
Enforce or eliminate the 20,000 "gun control laws" in place, don't make more. — Author Unknown
Even as gun ownership has surged in the US in the past year, violent crime, including murder and robbery, has dropped steeply....After several years of crime rates holding relatively steady, the FBI is reporting that violent crimes – including gun crimes – dropped dramatically in the first six months of 2009, with murder down 10 percent across the US as a whole. Concurrently, the FBI reports that gun sales – especially of assault-style rifles and handguns, two main targets of gun-control groups – are up at least 12 percent nationally since the election of President Obama. — The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Dec 2009
Every bullet you fire has a lawyer attached to it. — Author Unknown
Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state. — Thomas Jefferson
Every civilized society must disarm its citizens against each other. Those who do not trust their own people become predators upon their own people. The sick thing is that haters of fellow Americans often think of themselves as patriots. — Gary Wills, "Worldwide Gun Control", Philadelphia Inquirer, 17 May 1981
Every day now we hear the term 'gun violence' instead of 'human violence.' — Jon Haupt
Every good Communist should know that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun, and that gun must remain firmly in the hands of the state. — Mao Tse Tung
Everyone has a right to bear arms. If you take guns away from legal gun owners, then the only people who have guns are the bad guys. — Bruce Willis, Actor
Every time I teach a [gun] class, I discover something I don't know. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
Except for lawful police and military purposes, the possession of weapons by individuals is not constitutionally protected. — ACLU Policy Statement #47, 1986
False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men because it burns, and water because one may drown in it; that has no remedy for evils, except destruction. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Can it be supposed that those who have the courage to violate the most sacred laws of humanity, the most important of the code, will respect the less important and arbitrary ones, which can be violated with ease and impunity, and which, if strictly obeyed, would put an end to personal liberty -- so dear to men, so dear to the enlightened legislator -- and subject innocent persons to the vexations that the guilty alone ought to suffer? Such laws makes things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. They ought be designated as laws not preventive but fearful of crimes, produced by the tumultuous impression of a few isolated facts and not by thoughtful consideration of the inconveniences and advantages of a universal decree. — Cesare Beccaria, father of modern criminology (On Crimes And Punishment, 1764)
Fast is fine. But accuracy is final. — Wyatt Earp
Fight back! Whenever you are offered violence, fight back! The aggressor does not fear the law, so he must be taught to fear you. Whatever the risk, and at whatever the cost, fight back! — Colonel Jeff Cooper, Nov 1993
Firearm safety - It’s a matter for education, not legislation. — Author Unknown
Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth. — George Washington
Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence. The church, the plow, the prairie wagon, and citizen's firearms are indelibly related. 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 the pistol are equally indispensable. Every corner of this land knows firearms, and more than 99 99/100 percent of them by their silence indicate they are in safe and sane hands. The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference; they deserve a place with all that's good. When firearms, go all goes; we need them every hour. — Falsely attributed to George Washington
First the Constitution ought to secure a genuine and guard against a select militia, by providing that the militia shall always be kept well organized, armed, and disciplined, and include, according to the past and general usage of the states, all men capable of bearing arms; and that all regulations tending to render that general militia useless and defenseless by establishing select corps of militias, or distinct bodies of military men, not having permanent interests and attachments in the community to be avoided. — Patrick Henry
Foolish liberals who are trying to read the Second Amendment out of the Constitution by claiming it's not an individual right or that it's too much of a public safety hazard don't see the danger in the big picture. They're courting disaster by encouraging others to use the same means to eliminate portions of the constitution they don't like. — Alan Dershowitz, Professor of Law at Harvard Law School
Force has been given to us to defend our own individual rights. Who will dare to say that force has been given to us to destroy the equal rights of our brothers? Since no individual acting separately can lawfully use force to destroy the rights of others, does it not logically follow that the same principle also applies to the common force that is nothing more than the organized combination of the individual forces? — Frederic Bastiat
For, in principle, there is no difference between a law prohibiting the wearing of concealed arms, and a law forbidding the wearing such as are exposed; and if the former be unconstitutional, the latter must be so likewise. But it should not be forgotten, that it is not only a part of the right that is secured by the constitution; it is the right entire and complete, as it existed at the adoption of the constitution; and if any portion of that right be impaired, immaterial how small the part may be, and immaterial the order of time at which it be done, it is equally forbidden by the constitution. — Bliss vs. Commonwealth, 12 Ky. (2 Litt.) 90, at 92, and 93, 13 Am. Dec. 251 (1822).
For target shooting, that's okay. Get a license and go to the range. For defense of the home, that's why we have police departments. — James Brady, Parade Magazine, 26 Jun 1994
Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it. — Pericles
Free men do not ask permission to bear arms. — Author Unknown
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
Get a gun. I don't think law enforcement can always protect (residents). — Sheriff Jake Miller, Brevard County, Florida
Giving up the right to arms is a mistake a free people get to make only once. — Jack Childs
God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty....And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure. — Thomas Jefferson
God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it. — Daniel Webster
God made women but Colonel Colt made women equal, and carrying the tool he invented remains the constitutional right of every American. — Vince Suprnowicz
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. — Plato (428-347BC)
Governments need armies to protect them against their enslaved and opposed subjects. — Leo Tolstoy (1893)
Great danger lies in the notion that we can reason with evil. — Doug Patton
Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined. The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun. — Patrick Henry at Virginia's US Constitution ratification convention
Gun bans don't disarm criminals, gun bans attract them. — Walter Mondale, 20 Apr 1994, former Vice President (D), and US Ambassador to Japan
Gun control and police exclusivity of weapons possession are incompatible with a free state because they promote dependency on government and punish or discourage dependency on self. Under threat of force. Never forget this. — John Longenecker, author of Transfer of Wealth: The Case For Nationwide Concealed Carry
Gun control disarms law-abiding citizens, not criminals. — Antonio Martino, Italy's Minister of Defense
Gun control has cleared the way for seven major genocides since 1915, in which governments gone bad murdered 56,000,000 persons, including millions of children. — Aaron Zelman of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
Gun control has never reduced violence and the only effect of banning handguns is leaving the law-abiding defenseless against criminals. — Don B. Kates, Attorney
Gun control is a concept that is 100% incompatible with democracy. If you cannot trust your neighbor with his right to defend himself, why should you trust him with his right to shape the government? — Ishpeck
Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars. — Author Unknown
Gun control is mental masturbation for the masses. It is a feel good reaction to an inanimate object so that the uninformed do not have to come to the realization that the person next to them might rob, rape or kill them....Evil people will continue to kill and assault others without regard to the laws on the books. Gun control, again, is a political feel good solution, aimed at an uninformed public and not a realistic answer to the problem. — Dave
Gun control is not about guns; it's about control. — Author Unknown
Gun control? It's the best thing you can do for the crooks and gangster. I want you to have nothing. If I'm the bad guy, I'm always gonna have a gun. Safety locks? You will pull the trigger with a lock on, and I'll pull the trigger. We'll see who wins. — Sammy "the Bull" Gravano, Mafia informant
"Gun control" laws have no effect on criminals. No gun control law -- not a ban, not registration, not a permit system -- can have any
useful effect on ant criminal use of a gun. The only people gun laws impact are the very people to whom those laws should not
apply: the law-abiding, the responsible, the productive citizens. It's obvious that [gun control advocates] want to accomplish something with
their gun laws, But their goal sure isn't stopping violent crime. —
Jeff Knox
Gun control laws in the United States are woefully inadequate. In our vast society guns should have no reasonable role....For the American family in 1973, fear, apprehension, mistrust, anguish and pain are the dreaded products of our firearms history....First, the registration of every civilian-owned gun in this country. Second, it will require all gun owners to pass stringent qualifying procedures to legally possess a gun and, third, it bans the domestic output of all hand-held firearms that are not designed for sporting purposes. — Edward Kennedy, US Senator, pushing his Personal Safety Firearms Act of 1973
[G]un control often serves as a gateway to tyranny. Tyrants from Hitler to Mao to Stalin have sought to disarm their own citizens, for the simple reason that unarmed people are easier to control. Our Founders, having just expelled the British army, knew that the right to bear arms serves as the guardian of every other right. This is the principle so often ignored by both sides in the gun control debate. Only armed citizens can resist tyrannical government. — Ron Paul
Gun control shifts the equation in favor of the criminal. — Judge Robert Bork
Gun control, the theory that 110-pound women should have to fistfight with 210-pound rapists. — Chris Morton
Gun laws are laws against self-defense. — John Stossel
Gun registration is not enough. — Janet Reno, US Attorney General, Associated Press, 10 Dec 1993
Gun registration is not enough. — Janet Reno, US Attorney General, "Good Morning America," 10 Dec 1993
Gun sales are spiking. Stores are running out of ammunition. Why? Because people don’t trust their government. And the feeling seems to be mutual – your government doesn’t trust you, either, at least not with owning a gun. — Glenn Beck
Guns are about one-tenth of the issue. Guns are the tip of the iceberg. Guns are the part of the iceberg that exists above the waterline of freedom. — Charles Heller, 2 Deb 2009
Guns are dangerous. But myths are dangerous, too. Myths about guns are very dangerous, because they lead to bad laws. And bad laws kill people. — John Stossel, 19 Oct 2005
Guns are not always the answer, but obtaining a firearm has saved the lives of many... While I favor keeping guns out of the hands of felons, youths and the mentally impaired, I oppose adding more bureaucratic obstacles that attempt to fight crime by disarming its victims. — Peter Kasler, New York Times, 13 Jul 91
Guns are not dangerous, stupid people with guns are dangerous. Power saws are not dangerous, stupid people with power saws are dangerous. You are more likely to be killed or injured driving your car then you are to be hurt by a firearm. — Jason Robey, Salt Lake County Police
Guns are the loaded chamber indicator of freedom. —
Kevin Baker, 2 Feb 2009
Guns are used more than two hundred twenty times (220X) more for self-defense, than for murdering people in the United States. Furthermore, firearms are used more than five times (5X) more for self-defense than for committing crime. — Marc Richardson
Guns have only two enemies: Rust and Democrats. — Author Unknown
Gun sales are spiking. Stores are running out of ammunition. Why? Because people don’t trust their government. And the feeling seems to be mutual – your government doesn’t trust you, either, at least not with owning a gun. — Glenn Beck, 2009
Gun traffickers have found a new avenue for dealing guns to criminals, to the mentally ill, and the under-aged--the Internet. The firepower available on the Internet is chilling. Machine guns, assault weapons and cheaply made pistols are available in cyberspace for the taking. And they are available to those who could never buy a gun under the Brady law. — Charles Schumer, US Senator, 16 Mar 1999 (Class III applications are easier to get approved than Brady paperwork?)
Gun violence won't be cured by one set of laws. It will require years of partial measures that will gradually tighten the requirements for gun ownership, and incrementally change expectations about the firepower that should be available to ordinary citizens. — New York Times, 21 Dec 1993
Having a gun in the house that isn't loaded is like having a car in the garage without gas in the tank. — Author Unknown
He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. — Jesus (Bible, Luke 22:36)
He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself. — Thomas Paine
Hope is not a strategy. — Dave Grossman, Army Ranger, PhD, Author of On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
...hoplophobes just see guns bad in themselves, not in their capacity to achieve any particular objective. They do not hate crime, they hate guns, and there is no reasoning with them because a phobia is just that, a mental aberration not subject to reasoned argument. — Jeff Cooper (Guns & Ammo Magazine, Jul 2003, p 90)
Hoplophobia is a mental disturbance characterized by irrational aversion to weapons, as opposed to justified apprehension about those who may wield them. — Jeff Cooper
Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them (arms); for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become a prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves. — Thomas Paine,
Common Sense
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, controlled, supervised, and taken care of. — Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp (Texas)
I am consistently on record and will continue to be on record as opposing concealed carry. — Barack Obama, 27 Apr 2004
I am not in favor of concealed weapons. I think that creates a potential atmosphere where more innocent people could (get shot during) altercations. — Barack Hussein Obama, Senator & Presidential Candidate
I am not in favor of concealed weapons. There has not been any evidence that allowing people to carry a concealed weapon is going to make anybody safer. — Barack Obama
I am writing this in response to the Feb. 13 Letter of the Week. While Larry Jones may describe himself as a “gun nut,” I have never met a gun nut who regards the right to carry a firearm as a privilege. In fact, the last time I checked, the Second Amendment to the Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights, not Bill of Privileges. Mr. Jones goes on to deride his fellow concealed weapons classmates, whom he has never met, describing a chill running down his spine while looking them over. This republic was built upon many things, one of them being personal responsibility. While Mr. Jones and The Tribune may want people to undertake extensive training in order to enjoy a guaranteed right, I look at it in a different manner. Our forefathers were bright enough to understand that the majority of people given rights will not cause harm to others, and if they do they will be punished. This amazing concept of giving folks the benefit of the doubt may have been lost on Mr. Jones, but if he is so adamant about receiving proper training before being given a right, perhaps he and the staff at The Tribune wouldn't mind taking a freedom of speech course before printing their opinions. — Riley Galt (Salt Lake Tribune, 16 Feb 1005)
I am the president of the largest civil-liberties organization this nation has ever seen. No, it's not the ACLU. It's not the NAACP. It's the NRA. With our 136-year history and almost 4 million members, the National Rifle Association of America is the oldest and largest civil-rights organization in the history of the United States. We're dedicated to the protection and advancement of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution, with a special focus on protecting the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. We're committed to educating and training every willing American in the safe and responsible use of firearms. Whether for hunting, sport, self-protection or any other lawful purpose, it doesn't matter. Most people are surprised to find that the NRA has almost 200 programs to make sure that Americans know their Second Amendment rights and can exercise them in a proficient and safe manner. The NRA is committed to constitutional rights. While most people think of us as focused on firearms, we are rather more focused on freedom. Yes, we concentrate on the Second Amendment, but the Second Amendment is about liberty. It's an insurance policy for all of your constitutional rights. The purpose of the Second Amendment is to make sure that you have the ability to protect your life, liberty and property, and those of your loved ones, against any who would try to take them from you. That includes your freedom to speak, worship, protest and vote. It includes the things you hold most dear. — Sandy Froman, NRA President, 12 Apr 2007
I ask, who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officials. — George Mason at Virginia's US Constitution ratification convention, 1788
I believe in keeping guns out of our inner cities, and that our leaders must say so in the face of the gun manufacturer's lobby. — Barak Obama, US Senator and US presidential candidate (NPAT, Jul 1998)
I believe the DC gun ban is Constitutional, and will not be overturned. — Barack Obama, Constitutional Scholar, 2 Feb 2008
I agree with the Supreme Court decision that guns are an individual right. — Barack Obama, Political Pragmatist / Opportunist, 30 Jun 2008
I believe with every ounce of feeling that I have that there are far too many guns. — Ed Rendell (Reason magazine, 1 Jul 1998)
I cannot consent to pay for a privilege where I have intrinsic right. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
I cannot go to work. But I have a film to finish. Our editor has been unable to make it in from New Jersey, but he is there now waiting for some word on what to do. I can't even think about this movie. I don't WANT to think about it because if I think about it I will have to face an ugly truth that has been gnawing through my head....This started out as a documentary on gun violence in America, but the largest mass murder in our history was just committed -- without the use of a single gun! Not a single bullet fired! No bomb was set off, no missile was fired, no weapon (i.e., a device that was solely and specifically manufactured to kill humans) was used. A boxcutter! — I can't stop thinking about this. A thousand gun control laws would not have prevented this massacre. What am I doing? — Michael Moore, gun control advocate who badgered K-Mart into stopping the sale of pistol ammunition, Sep 2001
I can't help thinking that if someone in that classroom had a gun, it would have been a fair fight. — Geraldo Rivera on The O'Reilly Factor discussing Virginia Tech shootings with Bill O'Reilly, 17 Apr 2007
Ideas are more dangerous than guns. We wouldn't let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas? — Josef Stalin
I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand. — Susan B. Anthony
I do not believe in people owning guns. Guns should be owned only by [the] police and military. I am going to do everything I can to disarm this state. — Michael Dukakis, Governor and US Presidential candidate
I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. — JRR Tolkien (The Two Towers)
I don't believe that people should be able to own guns. — Barack Obama in a 'mid-nineties' discussion with John R. Lott Jr.
I don't believe that assault rifles ought to be sold in America. — John Kerry, US Senator
I don't care about crime, I just want to get the guns. — Howard Metzenbaum (1917-2008), US Senator, 1994
I don't just want gun rights...I want individual liberty, a culture of self-reliance...I want the whole bloody thing. — Kim du Toit
I don't own a gun and I don't hunt, but I am a very strong believer in our Constitution. And I don't think that because some people abuse those rights, that you should take away those rights from others. — Ron SanAngelo, Connecticut State legislator
I don't think there is a Second Amendment right to own a gun. But I think it's a loser political issue. — James Carville, Clinton-Gore strategist
I don't want to be directed by any group of clowns about what to do with my gun. They won't get mine, that's for sure. — General Joe Foss
If a man loses his right to be free, lawful use of personal firearms, he loses his identity as a free agent in a civilized country. He becomes totally dependent -- and, therefore, ultimately a slave -- upon centralized police authority for protection of his life, liberty, and property. — (Dan Smoot Report, 16 Mar 1964)
If anybody comes into my home and tries to hurt my kids, I've no problem shooting them. — Angelina Jolie (quoted in the New York Daily News, 1 Jun 2008)
[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-citizens. — Alexander Hamilton (The Federalist Papers, Number 29)
If everyone carried a gun, I'm sure crime would be reduced. We'd also have a huge increase in people shooting off their own toes. — Mike Royko, syndicated columnist
If every person has the right to defend even by force — his person, his liberty, and his property, then it follows that a group of men have the right to organize and support a common force to protect these rights constantly. Thus the principle of collective right — its reason for existing, its lawfulness — is based on individual right. And the common force that protects this collective right cannot logically have any other purpose or any other mission than that for which it acts as a substitute. Thus, since an individual cannot lawfully use force against the person, liberty, or property of another individual, then the common force — for the same reason — cannot lawfully be used to destroy the person, liberty, or property of individuals or groups. — Frederic Bastiat
If every woman in every big, high-crime community in America had a gun in her purse or strapped to her thigh, we would have a safer, more courteous society. — Mike Royko, syndicated columnist
If George Washington had learned that soldiers under his command had died from a turncoat attack within an American Fort
-- not because arms weren’t available for his men to defend themselves but because an American officer didn’t trust American soldiers to bear arms
-- I’m fairly certain that the American officer would have been summarily executed by the same firing squad as the turncoat. — J. Neil Schulman,
referring to the massacre of 13 soldiers at Ft. Hood, Texas on 5 Nov 2009 where
soldiers were disarmed by commanders and even the Commander-In-Chief
If government realizes there are hundreds of millions of guns in lawful hands throughout the nation, you better believe that realization will invisibly restrain government. If you don't like our government now, you don't ever want to find out how bad it would be if the American population were completely disarmed. — Joseph Farah, Editor, World Net Daily
If gun control worked, the District of Columbia would have no violence and yet it is the murder capitol of the planet. — Phil Graham, US Senator
If guns are outlawed, can we use swords? — Author Unknown
If guns cause crime, then mine must be defective. — Ted Nugent
If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson. — Author Unknown
If I'm armed, you will not come to my house and harass me with a gun because you don't know who will die in the process. — Lekan Balogun, Nigerian politician
If it were up to me we'd ban them all [firearms]. — Mel Reynolds, US Congressman, CNN Crossfire, 9 Dec 93
If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed in my country I never would lay down my arms. Never! Never! Never! — William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (1708-1778) Speech, 18 Nov 1777
If I won't protect myself, what right do I have to expect another person to risk his or her life for mine? — Sunni Maravillosa
If liberals knew what they were missing, they’d give up drugs, sex and rock-n-roll for shooting and hunting. But then the rest of us would never draw an elk tag, so to hell with 'em! — James "Mitch" Vilos aka (Pancho Vilos)
I follow arms trafficking across the world, and I’ve never known illegal arms traffickers who cared very much about the law. And so I simply don’t accept the notion that the lifting of the [Assault Weapons] ban [of 1994] somehow has led arms traffickers to increase their activity. — Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State responding to Mexican claims that US gun-rights cause to drug-related violence in Mexico
If Second Amendment rallies are a "Threat to the rule of Law" then the Rule of Law should be threatened! — Kurt Hofmann responding to Josh Horwitz
of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence who described National Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea as a "threat to the rule of law."
If someone gets into your house, which would you rather have, a handgun or a telephone? You can call the police if you want, and they'll get there, and they'll take a picture of your dead body. But they can't get there in time to save your life. The first line of defense is you. — Tom Palmer, Cato Institute who says just showing his gun to muggers once saved his life
If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun. — The 14th Dalai Lama, (May 15, 2001)
If someone is so fearful that they're going to start using their weapons to protect their rights, it makes me very nervous that these people have these weapons at all! — Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) on MSNBC
If the courts started interpreting the Second Amendment the way they interpret the First, we'd have a right to bear nuclear arms by now. — Ann Coulter
If the existing assault-weapons ban [1994-2004] expires, I personally do not believe it will make one whit of difference one way or another in terms of our objective, which is reducing death and injury and getting a particularly lethal class of firearms off the streets. So if it doesn't pass, it doesn't pass. — Tom Diaz of the anti-gun Violence Policy Center on NPR's Morning Edition, 2004
If the First Amendment were as gutted as the Second, we'd only be allowed vowels by now. — Bruce
If the opposition (citizens) disarms, well and good. If it refuses to disarm, we shall disarm it ourselves. — Josef Stalin
If the price I must pay for my freedom is to acknowledge that the government was granted the power to infringe on them, then I am not free. — Pol Anderson
If the thief be found breaking in, and be smitten so that he dieth, there shall be no bloodguiltiness for him. — Bible, Exodus 22:2 (American Standard Version)
If the thief is caught while breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguiltiness on his account. — Bible, Exodus 22:2 (New American Standard Version)
If those people who want to do away with guns could just be with me and my family, they'd understand. If they could witness the pride we take in our shooting ability, and the care we take to do things right, it might make a difference. — Roy Rogers
If we make peaceful revolution impossible, we make violent revolution inevitable. — John F. Kennedy
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen. — Samuel Adams (1722-1803), speech at the Philadelphia State House, 1 Aug 1776
If you are free to be a liberal – thank a man with a gun! — Author Unknown
If you believe in law enforcement as I do and as many officers do, understand that the law of personal authority is original with the declaration of the nation and that authority of officers is a delegated authority, delegated by the People, and not until the middle 1800's. Among the duties of Police, protection of individuals is not one of them: nowhere in the fifty states do police have a duty to protect individuals....In the beginning, general law enforcement largely did not have weapons....Even the early FBI didn’t carry guns until they faced the reality of why they’d better carry guns. Hint: The same reason we all should. The evolution of gun control and police exclusivity in gun possession is a recent social development. It serves administrators and officials in terms of political gain in prestige, control of funds and more. In short, many officials forget who is really in charge. So do many households. — John Longenecker, author of Transfer of Wealth: The Case For Nationwide Concealed Carry
If you believe in the right to life, then you must believe in the right to have the means to defend that life. — Charley Reese
If you carry a firearm, sooner or later you are going to have to use it. If you don't carry a firearm, sooner or later you are going to need it. — Don Cline
If you carry a gun, people will call you paranoid. That's ridiculous. If I have a gun, what in the hell do I have to be paranoid about? — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
If you don't have the right to defend yourself, you are not free. — Ted Nugent
If you carry a gun, people will call you paranoid. That's ridiculous. If I have a gun, what in the hell do I have to be paranoid about? — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
If you don't know your rights, you don't have any. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for. — Author Unknown
If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck. — Author Unknown
If you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. — Jesus Christ, Bible, Luke 22:36
If you hunt with your boy today, you won't have to hunt for him tomorrow. — Herb Parsons
If you look like prey, you will be eaten. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
If you meet it promptly and without flinching -- you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never! — Winston Churchill, (1874-1965), British Prime Minister
If you're not shootin', you should be loadin'. If you're not loadin', you should me movin'. If you're not movin', someone's gonna gut your head off and put it on a stick. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
If your most basic right is the right to life, then it seems obvious to me that you have the right to defend your life. Guns are, in this century, the most effective means of doing so - so effective that every genocide has only been carried out against victims who were disarmed by their governments. — William G. Hartwell
If you've got a gun law that criminals will obey, why not just turn it into a murder law that criminals will obey? Then we won't have to worry about the gun part. — Andrew Ford
If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed, if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. — Winston Churchill
I have a love interest in every one of my films: a gun. — Arnold Schwarzenegger
I have always believed that a true gentleman provides covering fire while a lady is reloading. — Tamara
I have a very strict gun control policy: if there's a gun around, I want to be in control of it. — Clint Eastwood
I have no objection to my fellow citizens owning guns. Understand, I am referring to decent, law-abiding people who realize that this is a rather violent society and that the police can't be everywhere at once. Without weapons, how are people supposed to protect themselves from rapists, killers and home invaders? With a kazillion guns already in circulation, Brady Bill or no Brady Bill, I'm afraid we'll never again see the day that criminals have to make do with rocks and sharp sticks. Oddly enough, it's often the very same people who get irate about their neighbors having the means to defend themselves who are the folks most opposed to mandatory sentences for gun-toting felons. It's as if they're against the possession of guns by amateurs, but hate the idea of denying professionals the necessary tools of their trade. However politically correct one chooses to be, the fact remains that in those states where people are allowed to carry weapons, crime statistics plummet. And for once, statistics are borne out by common sense. After all, if you're a punk looking to mug someone, it figures you'll think twice if there's a good chance your intended victim is better armed than you. — Burt Prelutsky, 2 Jul 2003
I have often and persistently maintained that women should be prepared; not necessarily for war, although it would not be undesirable to have them ready for extreme emergencies in war times, but to defend themselves. And if women and young girls would take up the practice and gain the skill, which requires but little effort, they would add to their happiness by falling in love with one of the finest of outdoor sports. — Annie Oakley (Arms And The Man, Oct 1919)
I honestly think, and I am not an expert on the amendments, I think the only people in this nation who should be allowed to own guns are police officers. I don't care if you want to hunt, I don't care if you think it's your right. I say, "Sorry!" It is 1999, we have had enough as a nation. You are not allowed to own a gun and if you do own a gun, I think you should go to prison. — Rosie O'Donnel, 21 Apr 1999
I know it's in the Constitution. But you know what? Enough! I would like to say, I think there should be a law -- and I know this is extreme -- that no one can have a gun in the US. If you have a gun, you go to jail. Only the police and military should have guns. It's ridiculous. — Rosie O'Donnel
I learn with great concern that [one] portion of our frontier so interesting, so important, and so exposed, should be so entirely unprovided with common fire-arms. I did not suppose any part of the United States so destitute of what is considered as among the first necessaries of a farm house. — Thomas Jefferson (letter to Jacob J. Brown, 1808)
I like marksmanship and think it is a good judge of character. A good shot is almost always a good man, because shooting calls for self-control, and self-control is one of the important aspects of a good man. — Colonel Jeff Cooper
I'll continue to be in favor of handgun law registration requirements and licensing requirements for training. — Barack Obama, Chicago Defender, 5 Jul 2001
I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with typewriters. — Frank Lloyd Wright (1868-1959)
I'm convinced that we have to have federal legislation to build on. Our ultimate goal -- total control of handguns in the United States -- is going to take time. My estimate is from seven to ten years. The problem is to slow down the increasing number of handguns sold in this country. The second problem is to get them all registered. And the final problem is to make the possession of *all* handguns and *all* handgun ammunition -- except for the military, policemen, licensed security guards, licensed sporting clubs, and licensed gun collectors -- totally illegal. — Pete Shields, Chairman, HCI (The New Yorker, 26 Jul 1976, pages 57-58)
I'm not an NRA member or gun enthusiast. I have never owned a gun and probably never will. But I voted against San Francisco's Proposition H. As a civil-rights attorney, I am alarmed by people's increasing willingness to give up other people's rights. — Ben Rosenfled, commenting in the San Francisco Chronicle on a 2005 initiative to ban handguns in San Francisco
I'm not going in the store to buy no gun. So, I could care less if they had a background check or not. — Maximum-security inmate in New Jersey
I'm secure enough in my self-esteem that I know I cannot handle a 150-pound guy coming at me, but I can handle a firearm to keep that man away from me. — Maria Heil
I'm the guy who originally wrote the [1994] assault weapons ban. — Joe Biden, US Senator, presidential debate, 23 Jul 2007
In a civilized and cultivated country, wild animals only continue to exist at all when preserved by sportsmen. The excellent people who protest against all hunting, and consider enemies of wildlife, are ignorant of the fact that in reality the genuine sportsman is by all odds the most important factor in keeping the larger and more valuable wild creatures from total extermination. — Theodore Roosevelt, 1905
In a constitutional government the fighting-men have the supreme power, and those who possess arms are the citizens. — Aristotle (384-322BC)
In a polity, each citizen is to possess his own arms, which are not supplied or owned by the state — Aristotle (384-322BC)
In a world marked by evil and sin, the right of legitimate defense by armed means exists. This right can become a serious duty for those who are responsible for the lives of others, for the common good of the family or of the civil community. — 1994 Vatican Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
In effect, the [second] amendment says we reaffirm the right to have a militia, we've established it, but in addition, there is a right to bear arms. — Justice Anthony Kennedy, US Supreme Cout Justice, 18 Mar 2008
I never killed anyone who didn't need killing. — Orin Porter Rockwell
In fact, only police, soldiers -- and, maybe, licensed target ranges -- should have handguns. No one else needs one. — Michael Gartner, former president of NBC News
In fact, the assault weapons ban will have no significant effect either on the crime rate or on personal security. Nonetheless, it is a good idea....Its only real justification is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation. — Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 5 Apr 1996
In October 2001, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in United States vs. Timothy Joe Emerson, held that the Second Amendment gives the individual the right to bear arms. Many young people do not know that they are, in fact, members of the militia under Title 10, Chapter 13, Section 311 of the U.S. Code annotated. There, militia is defined as consisting of all able-bodied males 17 years of age and under 45 years of age who are or wish to become citizens. It also states that there are two classes of militia, one being, ''The unorganized militia which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.'' — Wallace C. Worth Jr., attorney in Allentown, Pennsylvania
In small towns as well as large, good people outnumber bad people by 100 to 1. In big towns the 100 are nervous. But in small towns, it's the one. — Paul Harvey
In the foolishness of my heart, I thought that the truth would be a defense. — Harold Fish after his conviction for a self-defense shooting
I probably wrote more columns on the issue of availability of handguns than any columnist in the United States. Finally, I noticed something else. Strict gun laws are about as effective as strict drug laws. The drugs flow and so does the supply of weapons. It pains me to say this, but the NRA seems to be right: The cities and states that have the toughest gun laws have the most murder and mayhem. Just as junkies find drugs, criminals find weapons. And I haven't the faintest idea how to prevent it. And now we've reached the point where most law-abiding gun owners believe that they need their guns because of all the artillery that is in the hands of the loonies. They are against unilateral disarmament. — Mile Royko, Syndicated newspaper columnist, 1993
I respectfully submit to you that if we ever embark upon the principle that because a liberty might be abused the government can restrict, restrain or abolish it, ladies and gentlemen, you have lost everything. — Harlan Carter, President, NRA
I say all guns are good guns. There are no bad guns. I say the whole nation should be armed. Period. — General Joe Foss
I share our Founders' belief that in a free society each citizen must have the right to keep and bear arms. They ratified the Second Amendment knowing that this right is the guardian of every other right, and they all would be horrified by the proliferation of unconstitutional legislation that prevents law-abiding Americans from exercising this right. — Dr. Ron Paul, US Congressman and 2008 Presidential Candidate
I shortly will introduce legislation banning the sale, manufacture or possession of handguns (with exceptions for law enforcement and licensed target clubs)....It is time to act. We cannot go on like this. Ban them! — John H. Chafee (1922-1999) former US Senator
I still believe that the best way to control handguns is to ban them outright. — Rep. Cardiss Collins
I suggested in the anti-gun control bill that thirty days after all firearms have been taken away from criminals, that all firearms be confiscated from all law-abiding citizens. To this remark, one Liberal Congressman answered, "This law would never work because we would never be able to get guns away from Criminals." That is why we don't need a law to take away guns from law-abiding citizens. — John R. Rarick, US Congressman, 1 Sep 1972
I sympathize with people who want to ban guns, but I can't agree with them. We have to be careful in our zeal to abolish guns that we don't wind up with counter-productive legislation that will leave armed only the people most likely to do harm with them. — Hugh Downs, ABC newsman
It doesn't make much sense that we regulate toy guns but not real guns. — Hillary Clinton, US Senator (CNN, 9 May 2000)
I think it is a scandal that this president [George W. Bush] did not authorize a renewal of the [1994] assault weapons ban. — Barack Obama, 21 Oct 2004 (Note to "constitutional law professor Obama: Congress did not present such a bill to Bush, a bill which Bush promised he would sign!)
It is a fact, too -- although a curious one -- that the sale of small arms to gun enthusiasts or sportsmen produces a greater sense of moral outrage in Western society, than is produced by the sale to psychotic despots of weaponry capable of killing thousands. — Margaret Thatcher, in a 1998 speech to the National Institute for Public Policy in Washington, DC
It is a lesson of history that it is ethically, morally, and philosophically impossible to have too many personal weapons, whether they be edged, impact or projectile. — David W. Loeffler
[It is] barbarous and professed tyranny...to unarm his people of weapons....[The] sophistical or subtle tyrant [would seek] to unarm his people and store up their weapons, under pretence of keeping them safe. — Sir Walter Raleigh, Maxims of State
It is because the people are civilized, that they are with safety armed. — Joel Barlow
It is better to carry a gun for 20 years and not need it than to need one for 2 minutes and not have it. — George A. Smith (1817–1875), Mormon Pioneer and Apostle
It is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks. It is legal and lawful to own a shotgun or a rifle. We believe in obeying the law. — Malcolm X, 1964
It is also interesting to note that the top officials of Handgun Control Institute are gun owners themselves. They also intend on keeping them. It's other people's guns that bother them. — Mark Urbin
It is irresponsible to go into the world incapable of preventing violence, injury, crime, and death. It is a feeble mindset to accept defenselessness. It's unnatural, cheap, cowardly and pathetic. — Ted Nugent, Musician & Civil Rights Activist
It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once. — David Hume
It is the criminal who 'shoots to kill' in violation of man's rights. It is the law-abiding citizen who shoots in 'righteous self defense' to protect and preserve man's rights. — James Mullen
It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government. — Thomas Paine
It is time for local, state, and federal governments to use some common sense with regard to firearms. Surely anyone can see that more antigun laws have not affected the behavior of outlaws, nor do they even necessarily affect the behavior of law-abiding citizens. What we need is education. We start sex education in grade schools with the idea that this will contribute to the health and safety of our children. Likewise, our governments and educators need to start working WITH (not against) the NRA to provide safety instruction in schools. The NRA has had such a safety training program in place for many years. It has been proven to contribute to responsible behavior among children with regard to firearms. In addition, television and movie producers must be held accountable for programming which teaches and even glamorizes irresponsible firearm use. Surely, they too could create entertainment which fosters responsible handling of firearms. — Blaine Nay, 9 Sep 2000
It is undoubtedly true that all citizens capable of bearing arms constitute the reserved military force or reserve militia of the United States as well as of the States, and in view of this prerogative of the general government, as well as of its general powers, the States cannot, even laying the constitutional provision in question out of view, prohibit the people from keeping and bearing arms, so as to deprive the United States of their rightful resource for maintaining the public security, and disable the people from performing their duty to the general government. — US Supreme Court, 1886, Presser v. Illinois
It is well settled that, if a man is attacked, he has the right to defend himself. If the attack is of such character that, and made under such circumstances, as to create a reasonable apprehension of great bodily harm, and he acts under such apprehension, and in the reasonable belief that no other means will effectively prevent the harm, he has the right to kill the assailant. — Com. v. Barnacle, 134 Mass. 215, 215 (1883).
It really amazes me how the same people that want to ban all firearms because they are so dangerous, are also the same people that want to hand out free needles to junkies. — John Brady, Detective, 81Sqd, NYPD
It's not about tolerance. It's about control. Zero tolerance [for guns and] gun bans are based on the phony premise that the innocent people contribute to the violence and will eventually become criminals. — John Longenecker
It ought to be a law that people must have a gun in their homes. I know many fine police officers. But we can't depend on the police to protect us anymore. The value of human life means nothing to [criminals]. If it had been my house [this thug] came in on, he would have wound up at Coulter Funeral Home. — Judge Bob Moon (Chattanooga, TN) advising a female victim of a home invasion to buy a gun
It sounded like Hamas had a training camp next door. — William Frangis, Elbert (Colorado) County Sheriff speaking about Peaceful Valley Boy Scout camp's shooting range (That's not a quote from US Special Forces in Iraq or Afghanistan!)
It's very easy to do that [own guns] in good conscience, because we've got a great training program. When you buy the gun, don't just run home and hide it in the drawer loaded. Get the instruction on how to use it. And, of course, if you have children around, you never have the ammunition and the gun together unless you know that you're going to use it. See, we don't police our homes any more as a family unit. We run off like goofy geese and let the silly box be the baby sitter. That's where the kids really go wild -- when you look at that thing and see the blow 'em up and shoot 'em up, even for breakfast. Yesterday morning I was watching TV, and they had a show on there. It was pow! pow! pow! for breakfast! So no matter when the kid looks at it, he gets the general idea you oughta shoot somebody. It's time in our great country that some of the parents take the responsibility of taking care of their kids. — General Joe Foss
I want to kill 'em in suburban areas on gun control. — Ed Rendell (The New Republic, 23 Oct 2000)
I want to make it as hard as possible. Gun owners would have to be evaluated by how they scored on written and firing tests, and have to pass the tests in order to own a gun. And I would tax the guns, bullets and the license itself very heavily. — Jocelyn Elders, US Surgeon General, Mother Jones, Jan/Feb 1994
I was once asked by a lady visiting if I had a gun in the house. I said I did. She said "Well I certainly hope it isn't loaded!" To which I said, of course it is loaded, can't work without bullets!" She then asked, "Are you that afraid of some one evil coming into your house?" My reply was, "No not at all. I am not afraid of the house catching fire either, but I have fire extinguishers around, and they are all loaded too." — Author Unknown
I will teach my children weapons and warfare, so they might teach their children science and law, so they might teach their children art and literature. — Unknown Greek
I wonder why some of the so-called guardians of freedom are so anxious to register guns and so reluctant to register Communists. — Tom Anderson
I would rather be the candidate of the NAACP than the NRA. — Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry
Joe Foss, the authentic hero, tells a tale upon himself. When he was given his first rifle he was allowed to take it out and use it by himself, though not in company. Tempted beyond resistance, he let go and fractured a ceramic insulator on a power line. For this sin he was grounded for a year - a truly awesome penalty. At age 14 a year is forever, and Joe had the full time to ponder upon his precious rifle locked away in his father's closet. It is not necessary to use tranquilizers to "train up the child in the way he should go. — Jeff Cooper
Judge a law by the worst reading, and in the hands of the worst enemies of the Second Amendment. — Harlon B. Carter, President, NRA
Just as the First and Fourth Amendments secure individual rights of speech and security, respectively, the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. — John Ashcroft, US Attorney General
Just because you have an individual right does not mean that the state or local government can't constrain the exercise of that right. — Barack Obama, presidential primary debate in Philadelphia, 2008
Keeping and bearing arms is not only a fundamental right; it is a fundamental duty upon which all liberty and sovereignty is based. — Donald L. Cline
Keep in mind that our Constitution was written to keep the government afraid of the citizens. Once that fear is removed then the citizens have lost control. — RegularGuy
Know guns: Know peace and safety. No guns: No peace and safety. — Author Unknown
Large numbers of Americans tote guns because they're assertive, self-reliant citizens, not docile subjects of a permanent governing class. The Second Amendment is philosophically consistent with the First Amendment....Both amendments embody the American view that liberty is not the gift of the state, and its defense cannot be outsourced exclusively to the government. — Mark Steyn
Laugh all you want, but when the zombies come we both know whose house you will be running to for protection. — A gun owner's response to friends that laugh at him for collecting firearms
Laws can't control the lawless. — Wayne LaPierre, NRA Executive Vice President
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 (On Crimes And Punishment, 1764) (Quoted by Thomas Jefferson in Commonplace Book, 1774-1776, p 298-316)
Let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one. — Jesus (Bible, Luke 22:36)
Let me make a point here, in case this isn't becoming extremely clear. My state has gun control laws. It did not keep Hennard from coming in and killing everybody! What it did do, was keep me from protecting my family! That's the only thing that cotton pickin' law did! OK! Understand that! That's so important! — Dr. Suzanne Gratia Hupp, Killeen, Texas Luby's massacre survivor, Testimony in favor of Missouri concealed weapon law before Missouri legislature, 4 Mar 1992
Let me state unequivocally my view that the text and the original intent of the Second Amendment clearly protects the right of individuals to keep and bear firearms....While some have argued that the Second Amendment guarantees only a 'collective right' of the states to maintain militias, I believe the amendment's plain meaning and original intent prove otherwise. — John Ashcroft, US Attorney General, 2001
Let us not forget that one of the main reasons our fore fathers included the second amendment was to protect ourselves from our own government. The will of the people will always prevail in America, liberty and justice for all. — Chuck B.
Let us resist evil, and whatsoever evil we cannot resist with our words, yea, such as rebellions and dissensions, let us resist them with our swords, that we may retain our freedom. — Book of Mormon (Alma 61:14)
Let us speak courteously, deal fairly, and keep ourselves armed and ready. — Teddy Roosevelt, 1903
Let us recollect that peace or war will not always be left to our option; that however moderate or unambitious we may be, we cannot count upon the moderation, or hope to extinguish the ambition of others. ...The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed. — Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) The Federalist Papers, 184-8
Let us resist evil, and whatsoever evil we cannot resist with our words, yea, such as rebellions and dissensions, let us resist them with our swords, that we may retain our freedom. — Book of Mormon, Alma 61:14
Liberty is preserved with 4 boxes: Soap, Jury, Ballot, and Cartridge. — Dan Skinner
Liberty lies in the rights of that person whose views you find most odious. — John Stuart Mill
Like flat earth fanatics, Second Amendment fanatics just don't get it. Facts are facts. The earth is not flat. And Constitutional law is Constitutional law. The Second Amendment is not absolute. It does not guarantee the mythical individual right to bear arms we will hear argued for today. The gun lobby and its friends in Congress can line up professors of history and law from here to NRA headquarters and back. They can all swear what they think the Second Amendment means, and how many angels can dance on a pinhead. But the settled law is flatly against them. — Charles Schumer, Constitutionally-challenged US Congressman, statement before the House Subcommittee on Crime, 5 Apr 1995
Like many academics, I was happy to blissfully ignore the Second Amendment. It did not fit neatly into my socially liberal agenda. Yet, two related cases could now force liberals into a crisis of conscience. Principle is a terrible thing, because it demands not what is convenient but what is right. It is hard to read the Second Amendment and not honestly conclude that the Framers intended gun ownership to be an individual right. None of this is easy for someone raised to believe that the Second Amendment was the dividing line between the enlightenment and the dark ages of American culture. Yet, it is time to honestly reconsider this amendment and admit that -- here's the really hard part -- the NRA may have been right. — Jonathan Turley, Professor at George Washington University Law School
Little more than reasonably be aimed at, with respect to the people at large, than to have them properly armed and equipped.... — Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist, 29
Make [your attacker] advance through a wall of bullets. I may get killed with my own gun, but he's gonna have to beat me to death with it, 'cause it's going to be empty. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
Make yourselves sheep and the wolves will eat you. — Benjamin Franklin
Manufacture and sale of handguns should be terminated. Existing handguns should be acquired by the states. — Senator Edward Kennedy, 1974
Many "authorities" will advise you to comply with your captor's demands. I could not disagree more. You never want to place yourself into a position where you must rely on the mercy or "goodness" of someone who is committing a violent crime against you. — Ignatius Piazza, FrontSight
Many people mistakenly see weapons as the source of crime rather than a reaction to it. This is rather like blaming your flat tire on the spare you carry in the trunk. — Mickey Michels
Men possess handguns in order to compensate for sexual dysfunction. — Dr. Joyce Brothers, Psychiatrist, TV personality (Her husband is among NYC elite that has been issued a permit to carry a concealed handgun)
Militias, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves and include all men capable of bearing arms. 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, Additional Letters from the Federal Farmer, 1788
More guns, less crime. — John Lott, Economist and author
Mr. Ashcroft [US Attorney General] has compared the gun ownership right with the First Amendment's protection of speech -- which can be limited only in a fashion narrowly tailored to accomplish compelling state interests. If that's the model, most federal gun laws would sooner or later fall. After all, it would not be constitutional to subject someone to a background check before permitting him to worship or make a political speech. — The Washington Times, Editorial, 10 May 2002
Mr. Madison has introduced his long expected amendments. They are the fruit of much labor and research. He has hunted up all the grievances and complaints of newspapers, all the articles of convention, and the small talk of their debates. It contains a bill of rights, the right of enjoying property, of changing the government at pleasure, freedom of the press, of conscience, of juries, exemption from general warrants.... Oh! I had forgot, the right of the people to bear arms.... — Rep. Fisher Ames of Massachusetts describing the Bill of Rights, 11 Jun 1789
Mr. Speaker, I still believe that the best way to control handguns is to ban them outright. — Cardiss Collins, US Representative (D-IL)
Murderers do not kill because they can get guns; they get guns because they intend to murder. At best, keeping them from getting guns can only delay a would-be murderer’s act; sooner or later he’s going to earn his hanging. — F. Silber
Nearly eight in ten Americans (79 percent) view the Second Amendment as either "essential" (48 percent) or "important" (31 percent), according to a newly released survey by the First Amendment Center. — America's 1st Freedom, Nov 2002, p 21
Necessity is the plea of every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves. — William Pitt, 1783
Neither the City nor the State are in the business of selling weapons; we are in the business of confiscating them. — Ed Rendell, letter to a Pennsylvania resident, 7 Dec 1993
Never before has such a well-armed people become so utterly apathetic to the preservation of their liberties, so lazy in their thinking, and so cowardly in their actions. — Boston T. Party in Boston's Gun Bible
Never take a knife to a gun fight. — Author Unknown
Never throw rocks at people with guns. — Hastings' fourth law
Nobody should be allowed to monopolize violence because of possession of firearms. — Lekan Balogun, Nigerian politician
Nobody should be owning a gun which does not have a sporting purpose. — Janet Reno, US Attorney General
No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. — Thomas Jefferson, Proposed Virginia Constitution (1776)
No freeman shall be debarred the use of arms (within his own lands or tenements). — Thomas Jefferson, in an early draft of the Virginia Constitution (with his note added), 1776. Papers 1:353
No greater wrong can ever be done than to put a good man at the mercy of a bad, while telling him not to defend himself or his fellows; in no way can the success of evil be made surer or quicker. — Theodore Roosevelt
No kingdom can be secured otherwise than by arming the people. The possession of arms is the distinction between a freeman and a slave. —
Political Disquisitions, a British republican tract of 1774-1775
No matter how one approaches the figures, one is forced to the rather startling conclusion that the use of firearms in crime was very much less when there were no controls of any sort and when anyone, convicted criminal or lunatic, could buy any type of firearm without restriction. Half a century of strict controls on pistols has ended, perversely, with a far greater use of this weapon in crime than ever before. — Colin Greenwood (Firearms Control, 1972)
None but an armed nation can dispense with a standing army. To keep ours armed and disciplined is therefore at all times important. — Thomas Jefferson, 1803. ME 10:365
No one has the right to destroy another person's belief by demanding empirical evidence. — Ann Landers, Director, Handgun Control, Inc.
No slaves shall keep any arms whatever, nor pass...with arms from one place to another. — Virginia Assembly, 1779
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. — Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution
Nothing adds a little class to a sniper course like a babe in a Ghilliesuit. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
No, we are not looking at how to control criminals, we are talking about banning the AK47 and semi-automatic guns! — Senator Metzenbaum (D-OH), during the Constitution Subcommittee of 10 Feb 1989
Now, [picking a self-defense handgun] is like choosing a wife, if we all fell in love with the same one -- well you know. That said, if you are going to marry one, a wife that is, make sure the gal is as reliable and trustworthy as you can get. — William Layton
Now the natural right of self-defense is nothing more than the liberty which the law of nature allows us of defending ourselves from an attack which is made upon our persons or of taking such measures as may guard against any injuries we are likely to suffer from another.... — Henry St. George Tucker
Of course the California gun ban is wrong in principle and should be repealed at the first opportunity, but if house defense is your primary purpose, do not overlook the Lupara -- a short-barreled double 12-gauge shotgun with exposed hammers. If your object is to defend your hearth and home, you can almost certainly do it better with that than with an Uzi or an M16. — Jeff Cooper, Feb 1990
One bleeding-heart type asked me in a recent interview if I did not agree that 'violence begets violence.' I told him that it is my earnest endeavor to see that it does. I would like very much to ensure -- and in some cases I have -- that any man who offers violence to his fellow citizen begets a whole lot more in return than he can enjoy. — Jeff Cooper, Guns & Ammo Annual, Jan 1975
One hundred misses per minute is not firepower. One hit per minute is. — The Guru, Jeff Cooper
One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them. — Thomas Jefferson (letter to George Washington, 19 Jun 1796)
One man with a gun can control 100 without one....Make mass searches and hold executions for found arms. — VI Lenin
One of the ordinary modes by which tyrants accomplish their purpose without resistance is by disarming the people and making it an offense to keep arms. — Aristotle (384-322BC)
One tenet of the National Rifle Association's faith has always been that handgun controls do little to stop criminals from obtaining handguns. For once, the NRA is right and America's leading handgun control organization [Handgun Control, Inc.] is wrong. Criminals don't buy handguns in gun stores. That's why they are criminals. — Josh Sugarman, Jun 1987, then communications director of the Violence Policy Center, "The NRA Is Right", Washington Monthly
Only accurate rifles are interesting. — Col. Townsend Whelen
Only a government that is afraid of it's citizens will try to control them. — Author Unknown
Only a police state fears an armed citizenry. — Phoebe Courtney (Gun Control Means People Control, 1974, p 10)
Only the police should have handguns. — Bill Clinton
Open a history book and read up on who comprised the ready "militia" in 1787, and you will find it was the citizenry, not a standing army or organized reserve army. It is clear in the writings of our Founders that "well regulated militia" meant "a vigilant and prepared citizenry." Our founders universally detested standing armies, as, historically, they had been used by monarchies to oppress the will of the people. Thus, our Founders wisely determined that the best provision for the preservation of liberty was that the people be armed. Accordingly, Justice Joseph Story, appointed to the Supreme Court by the author of our Constitution, James Madison, noted, "The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic..." Indeed, historians have long confirmed this understanding, and more than a few court cases have cited it. — Federalist Patriot No. 05-15, 11 Apr 2005, http://federalistpatriot.us/
O sir, we should have fine times, indeed, if, to punish tyrants, it were only sufficient to assemble the people! Your arms, wherewith you could defend yourselves, are gone; and you have no longer an aristocratical, no longer a democratical spirit. Did you ever read of any revolution in a nation, brought about by the punishment of those in power, inflicted by those who had no power at all? — Patrick Henry, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 1778
Our cause has been aided by the deaths of all these children in all these schools, and in other settings. — Bill Clinton, 12 Apr 2000 as reported by the Rocky Mountain News
Our goal is to not allow anybody to buy a handgun. In the meantime, we think there ought to be strict licensing and regulation. Ultimately, that may mean it would require court approval to buy a handgun. — Michael K. Beard, President of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (Washington Times, 6 Dec 1993, p A1)
Our logic is that shooters are the most ill-disciplined people of any recreational group. That's what attracts them to guns. It's a state of mind. They are usually poorly educated, they never had much success at school and were never very good at sport. — John Crook, President of Gun Control Australia (The Advertiser, Adelaide, 16 Jul 1997)
Our nation was built and civilized by men and women who used guns in self-defense and in pursuit of peace. — Ronald Reagan
No liberties are safe if courts can so easily erase them, and no lover of liberty can be confident that an important right will never become so disfavored in popular or elite opinions as to be vulnerable to being discarded like the Second Amendment....Some people think that the Second Amendment is an outdated relic of an earlier time. Doubtless some also think that constitutional protections of other rights are outdated relics of earlier times. We The People own those rights regardless, unless and until We The People repeal them....The Second Amendment provides a good test of whether their allegiance is really to the Constitution of the United States, or only to their preferences in public policies and audiences. The Constitution is law, not vague aspirations, and we are obligated to protect, defend, and apply it. — Judge Andrew J. Kleinfeld, dissenting from a Ninth Circuit Court ruling which criminalizes any and all possession of firearms on Alameda County property
Only one thing could have stopped the Virginia Tech disaster. Imagine Cho Seung-Hui walking into a classroom, threatening people with his guns, making them line up, preparing to shoot them. Now freeze-frame that scene and think for a moment: There isn't anyone or anything in this world that could have stopped Cho in his tracks at that point and averted the hellish slaughter that followed – except a single student or professor with a firearm, trained to use it effectively and responsibly. After all, the next mass attacker might not be armed with a couple of handguns like Cho, but rather, with weapons of mass destruction. — David Kupelian, Managing Editor, World Net Daily
O sir, we should have fine times, indeed, if, to punish tyrants, it were only sufficient to assemble the people! Your arms, wherewith you could defend yourselves, are gone....Did you ever read of any revolution in a nation...inflicted by those who had no power at all? — Patrick Henry in Virginia Ratifying Convention
Outlawing guns is like outlawing pencils because bookies use them to record bets. — Blaine Nay
Out of more than 22,000 gun laws on the books, please point to one that stops crime. Just one. — John Longenecker, author of Transfer of Wealth: The Case For Nationwide Concealed Carry
Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country. — Marion Barry, former mayor of Washington, DC
Over a half million jobs in America are supported by hunters. That's more jobs than the combined employees of all the top U.S. based airlines including American, United, Delta, Northwest, Continental, U.S. Airways, Southwest, Alaska Air and America West. — www.huntersurvey.com
Owning a gun is like taking a CPR class: You dread the day you ever have to use it, but you may save someone's life when it happens. — Mark Athay
Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician. — Colonel Jeff Cooper
Passing a law like the assault weapons ban is a symbolic -- purely symbolic -- move in that direction. Its only real justification is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation. — Charles Krauthammer (Washington Post, 5 Apr 1996)
Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading. — Author Unknown
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. — George Orwell (1903-1950)
[People who are serious about civil liberties] begin with a constitutional understanding that declines to trivialize the Second Amendment just as they decline to trivialize any other right [guaranteed by the Bill of Rights]. — William Van Alstyne, ACLU Board member
People who are willing to rely on the government to keep them safe are pretty much standing on Darwin's mat, pounding on the door, screaming, "Take me, take me!" — Carl Jacobs
Personal weapons are what raised mankind out of the mud, and the rifle is the queen of personal weapons. — Col. Jeff Cooper
Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark. — Robert A. Heinlein
Police forces were never designed to provide general personal security; that reliance has of necessity rested with the people. Who provides protection before the squad car arrives? — Gordon N. Johnson, Chief of Police, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jan 1974
Policemen are nobody's personal bodyguards. Their jobs are to find and arrest people who have committed crimes, not to prevent such potential crimes from happening in the first place. Clearly, the responsibility for victim-prevention lies with the victim-to-be. — Robert Boatman
Police officers who continue to support the kind of gun control which is aimed at law-abiding citizens are sadly mistaken if they think it will make their jobs safer and prevent suicide. Cracking down on duck hunters and target shooters cannot and will not affect the criminal misuse of firearms in any way. Policing will always be a dangerous job. Violent criminals will always be out there ready to shoot at cops, using homemade guns if necessary. Suicide is also here to stay as long as there are ropes, razors and high buildings from which to jump. It is the dreamiest of daydreams to think that if we just pass a few more laws against legitimate gun owners, we will one day be able to go out on patrol without side arms, and that suicides will become a thing of the past. — Constable John A. Gayder
Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. — Mao Tse-Tung
Popular revolt against a ruthless, experienced modern dictatorship which enjoys a monopoly over weapons and communications is simply not a possibility in the modern age. — George Keenan (1964)
Proponents of civilian disarmament often insist that inflicting a grievous wrong on all citizens -- removing their most effective means of defense against the violence, in contradiction of the Second Amendment -- will somehow correct the underlying moral problem. —
Alan Scholl
Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est. (A sword is never a killer, it's a tool in the killer's hands.) — Lucius Annaeus Seneca "the younger" ca. (4 BC - 65 AD)
Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. — Bible, Psalm 82:4
Resistance movements begin to form when dissatisfaction occurs among strongly motivated individuals who cannot further their cause by peaceful or legal means. — US Army field manual on Guerrilla Warfare (FM 31-21, Sep 1961, p 5)
Resistance to sudden violence, for the preservation not only of my person, my limbs, and life, but of my property, is an indisputable right of nature which I have never surrendered to the public by the compact of society, and which perhaps, I could not surrender if I would. — John Adams, Boston Gazette, 5 Sep 1763
Rifles, muskets, long-bows and hand-grenades are inherently democratic weapons. A complex weapon makes the strong stronger, while a simple weapon -- so long as there is no answer to it -- gives claws to the weak. — George Orwell
Rome remained free for four hundred years and Sparta eight hundred, although their citizens were armed all that time; but many other states that have been disarmed have lost their liberties in less than forty years. — Niccolo Machiavelli
Safety doesn't happen by accident. — Author Unknown
Safety is a cheap and effective insurance policy. — Author Unknown
Sarah Brady tells decent citizens not to resist criminals who invade their homes, citing phony statistics to back up her dark sermon. Me? In keeping MY home secure, I'll stick with my buckshot-loaded shotgun with Sarah Brady's picture laminated to the butt - in perfect position to give the perp a goodbye kiss after I relieve him of his affliction. — Isaiah Amberay
Self defense is nature's oldest law. — John Dryden
Self defense is a primary law of nature, which no subsequent law of society can abolish; the immediate gift of the Creator, obliges everyone … to resist the first approaches of tyranny. — Elbridge Gerry, (1744-1814), Madison's Vice President, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Constitutional Convention delegate and one of the first congressmen from Massachusetts
[Self-defense is] justly called the primary law of nature, so it is not, neither can it be in fact, taken away by the laws of society. — Sir William Blackstone (Commentaries on the Laws of England)
Self-defense is not just a legal right; it is a human right. — David Kenik
Sherlock Holmes could teach deductive reasoning to the National Academy of Sciences. Holmes, the quintessential detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, knew that by eliminating all other factors, the remaining one must be the truth. An NAS panel created during the Clinton administration -- and infested with gun-grabbers -- issued a 328-page report on gun control. It studied hundreds of articles, books, government publications, gun-control laws and its own empirical work. But its exhaustive study -- analyzing the former ban on so-called assault weapons, the Brady Act, one-gun-a-month buying restrictions and gun locks -- could not identify any benefits of gun control. Crime was not reduced. Accidents were not lessened. But after studying each specific issue, the panel's inductive reasoning only concluded that more study was needed. Citizens in more than 30 states may carry concealed weapons legally. If they were injuring others or themselves, it surely would have produced front-page, above-the-fold stories with screaming, large-type headlines. Mr. Holmes also knew what silence could say. Because the guard dog did not bark in 'Silver Blaze,' Holmes easily deduced the truth about a horse thief. Since the panel's findings leave proponents speechless, deducing the truth about gun control is just as easy. Elementary, actually. — The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Shooting is fun. To most of us it is more fun than tiddlywinks, hopscotch or Frisbee. We shoot because we like to shoot. — Jeff Cooper
Shooting someone intimidates him. The better you shoot him the more he is intimidated. — Walt Rauch
Shooting. The only sport endorsed by the Founding Fathers. — Author Unknown
Shoot what's available, as long as it's available, until something else becomes available. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
Should anyone vote for or against a candidate solely on the basis of a single issue? Well, let me put it this way: If a politician isn't smart enough to understand that only the law-abiding obey gun laws, he's too dumb to represent me. And if he doesn't trust an armed citizenry, then I cannot trust him. — Chris Knox, www.gunvoter.org
Since police started keeping statistics, we now know that assault weapons are/were used in an underwhelming 0.026 of 1% of crimes in New Jersey. This means that my officers are more likely to encounter an escaped tiger from the zoo than to confront an assault weapon in the hands of of a drug-crazed killer on the streets.... — Joseph Constance, Deputy Police Chief, Trenton, NJ, Senate Judiciary Committee, Aug 1993
Slaves don't own guns. — Richard Rongstad
Smart guns and safety locks aren't meant to protect children. They're meant to kill gun owners. — Victor Milan
So as we set out this year to defeat the divisive forces that would take freedom away, I want to say those words again for everyone within the sound of my voice to hear and to heed, and especially for you, Mr. Gore: From my cold dead hands! — Charleton Heston (Raising a Sharps rifle in his hand at the 2000 NRA Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina)
Some Americans believe that it's better for a woman to be found strangled with her own pantyhose than to be explaining to Police how her attacker got that gunshot wound. — John Longenecker, author of Transfer of Wealth: The Case For Nationwide Concealed Carry
Some have argued that even the First Amendment is not an absolute right, noting that one cannot shout "fire!" in a crowded theater. If we applied the same logic as the gun control argument, our mouths would be taped shut when we enter a theater because someone might yell "fire." — Bradford Wiles
Some of our biggest political fallacies come from accepting words as evidence of realities. ...[For example,] 'gun control' laws do not control guns. The District of Columbia's very strong laws against gun ownership have done nothing to stop the high murder rate in Washington. New York had very strong gun control laws decades before London did. But the murder rate in New York has been some multiple of that in London for more than two centuries, regardless of which city had the stronger gun control laws at a given time. Back in 1954, when there were no restrictions on owning shotguns in England and there were far more owners of pistols then than there were decades later, there were only 12 cases of armed robbery in London. By the 1990s, after stringent gun controls laws were imposed, there were well over a thousand armed robberies a year in London. In the late 1990s, after an almost total ban on handguns in England, gun crimes went up another ten percent. The reason -- too obvious to be accepted by the intelligentsia -- is that law-abiding people became more defenseless against criminals who ignored the law and kept their guns. — Thomas Sowell, Hoover Institution economist
Some people just need to be shot. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
Sorry, but it's been 215 years and it's time to infringe. — Cathy Surbo, Seattle Post Intelligencer, Apr 2006
States may have grown accustomed to violating the [gun] rights of American citizens, but that does not bootstrap those violations into something that is constitutional. — Alan Gura, in response to questions from US Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor during the McDonald vs Chicago gun rights case
(he omitted the fact that the federal government also has grown accustomed to
violating the rights of American citizens)
Statistically, doctors are approximately 9.000 times more dangerous than gun owners. Number of physicians in the US - 700,000. Accidental deaths caused by physicians per year - 120,000. Accidental deaths per physician - 0.171. Number of gun owners in the US - 80,000,000. Number of accidental gun deaths per year (all age groups) - 1,500. Accidental deaths per gun owner - 0.0000188. We must ban doctors before this gets out of hand. Remember: guns don't kill people; doctors do. (Sources: US Dept of Health & Human Services; newsmax.com, 21 Jun 2001)
Strict gun laws are about as effective as strict drug laws...It pains me to say this, but the NRA seems to be right: The cities and states that have the toughest gun laws have the most murder and mayhem. — Mike Royko, Chicago Tribune
Talking to prisoners about guns emphasizes a few key lessons. First, criminals don't obey the law. (That's why we call them "criminals.") Second, no law can repeal the law of supply and demand. If there's money to be made selling something, someone will sell it. — John Stossel, 19 Oct 2005
Ted Kennedy’s car has killed more people than my gun! — Author Unknown
Tell the American people never to lose their guns. As long as they keep their guns in their hands, what happened here will never happen there. — A dying China citizen shot at Beijing, China
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; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that, in all cases, the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power. — Virginia Declaration of Rights 13 (12 Jun 1776), drafted by George Mason
That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or the laborer's cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there. — George Orwell
That rifle on the wall of the labourer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there. — George Orwell
That the people have a right to keep and 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. — George Mason, Virginia Ratification Convention, 1788
That the people have a right to keep and bear arms; that a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defence of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and therefore ought to be avoided, as far as the circumstances and protection of the community will admit; and that, in all cases, the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power. — Recommended Bill of Rights from the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 27 Jun 1778
The American people must be willing to give up a degree of personal privacy in exchange for safety and security. — Louis Freeh, Director of the FBI, 1993
The American Revolution would never have happened with Gun Control. — Author Unknown
The attitude of people associating guns with nothing but crime, that is what has to be changed. I grew up at a time when people were not afraid of people with firearms. — Antonin Scalia, US Supreme Court Justice
The balance of power is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world not destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. Horrible mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them…the weak will become a prey to the strong. — Thomas Paine
The bearing of arms is the essential medium through which the individual asserts both his social power and his participation in politics as a responsible moral being. — John Greville Agard Pocock, historian, describing the beliefs of the founders of the US)
The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed. — Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers
The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it. — Thomas Jefferson
The biggest problem with gun-control laws, is that those who are intent on harming others, and especially those who plan to commit suicide, are the least likely to obey them. — John R. Lott, Jr. (Gun Laws Can Be Dangerous, Too,
Wall Street Journal, 12 May 1999, p A-22)
The Brady Bill's only effect will be to desensitize the public to regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation. — Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post, 5 Apr 1996
The broad principle that there is an individual right to bear arms is shared by many Americans, including myself. — Senator Charles Schumer (at a May 2002 press conference)
The capability of self-defense with a handgun should not be limited to those able to afford an expensive weapon. — John G. Schmitz, US Congressman, commenting on so-called Saturday-night specials
The cast-bullet handloader is the only one that really makes any of his ammunition. Others merely assemble it. — E.H. Harrison
The cliché, "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns" is something less than accurate. Closer to the mark would be, "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws and governmental authorities will have guns." — Editorial in The Register of Santa Ana, California, 11 Mar 1972
The conclusion is thus inescapable that the history, concept, and wording of the second amendment to the Constitution of the United States, as well as its interpretation by every major commentator and court in the first half-century after its ratification, indicates that what is protected is an individual right of a private citizen to own and carry firearms in a peaceful manner. — Report of the Subcommittee On The Constitution of the Committee On The Judiciary, United States Senate, 97th Congress, second session (February, 1982), SuDoc# Y4.J 89/2: Ar 5/5
The Constitution does not say government shall decree the right to bear arms, the Constitution says the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. — Ronald Reagan
The Constitution doesn't give me the right to go home, get a gun, and come back to shoot you. — Judge Sonia Sotomayor, candidate for the US Supreme Court, in her juvenile response to a Senate Judiciary question about the Second Amendment
The constitution of each of the individual thirteen colonies, long before they united as states, made it overwhelmingly clear that the right to own guns was a citizen's right, not a state's one. — Massad Ayoob, police officer (Backwoods Home Magazine, Sep 2002, p 24)
The Constitution of the United States shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms. — Samuel Adams (1722-1803), Debates and Proceedings in the Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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, Number 46
The Constitution shall never be construed...to prevent he people of the United states who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms. — Samuel Adams, Debates and Proceedings in the Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
The constitutions of most of our States [and of the United 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 letter to John Cartwright, 1824. (The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Memorial Edition (ME), Lipscomb and Bergh, editors, 20 Vols., Washington, D.C., 1903-04, 16:45)
The corollary, from the first position [a well regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free state], is, that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The prohibition is general. No clause in the Constitution could by any rule of construction be conceived to give to congress a power to disarm the people. Such a flagitious attempt could only be made under some general pretence 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 (A View of the Constitution of the United States, p 125-26, 1829)
The current position of the United States is that the Second Amendment more broadly protects the right of individuals, including persons who are not members of any militia or engaged in active military service or training, to possess and bear their own firearms, subject to reasonable restrictions designed to prevent possession by unfit persons or to restrict the possession of firearms that are particularly suited to criminal use. — Theodore Olson, Solicitor General of the United States, May 2002
The danger to people when they cannot own guns is much greater than the danger gun ownership can ever create. In Soviet Russia and China, where government controls all guns, over ninety-five million people have been brutally slaughtered in the last fifty years. When governments have all power to protect the people from themselves, the people no longer have the power to protect themselves from government. — Lloyd G. Locket
The day they want my guns they’ll have to bring theirs. — Author Unknown
The DC Gun Ban works - just ask James Brady. — Author Unknown
The defence of one's self, justly called the primary law of nature, is not, nor can it be abrogated by any regulation of municipal law. — James Wilson (From a series of lectures given between 1790 and 1792), Of the Natural Rights of Individuals, in 2 The Works of James Wilson 335 (JD Andrews ed. 1896)
The Democrats ran away from gun safety in the 2002 elections, and look where it got them... Whoever is advising them on gun control should be shot. — Blaine Rummel, spokesperson of Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
The discussions of gun ownership have the normal dose of hypocrisy. Roll Call magazine reports that, since Sept. 11, some of the strongest congressional supporters of gun control have bought guns and gotten training. Congress certainly sees the benefits of armed individuals for its own safety: Members of Congress can carry guns around the capitol grounds. — John R Lott, Jr, New York Post, 12 Nov 2001
The economic activity generated by hunter's expenditures is equal to the the Gross State Product of Utah. — www.huntersurvey.com
The existence of laws, regulations, and procedures has never been sufficient to compel men to obedience. Productive obedience comes through the exercise of free will. — Dean L. Larsen (Ensign, May 1980)
The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or wrong end of the gun. — P. G. Wodehouse
The fifth and last auxiliary right of the subject, that I shall at present mention, is that of having arms for their defence, suitable to their condition and degree, and such as are allowed by law. Which is also declared by the same statute I W. & M. st. 2. c. 2. and is indeed a public allowance, under due restrictions, of the natural right of resistance and self-preservation, when the sanctions of society and laws are found insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression. — William Blackstone, 1765, Commentaries 1:139
The First Law of Nature is that every man ought to endeavour peace, as far as he has hope of obtaining it; and when he cannot obtain it, that he may seek and use all helps and advantages of war. — Thomas Hobbs, "Leviathan", (Outlines the Laws of Nature), 1651
The first step in the direction of preparation to avert war if possible, and to be fit for war if it should come is to teach men to shoot. — Theodore Roosevelt, US President
The Founding Fathers weren't worried about our being able to bag a buck or a deer. They were worried about our keeping our fundamental freedoms. — Mike Huckabee, 2008 Presidential Candidate and former Arkansas governor.
The founding generation certainly viewed bearing arms as an individual right based upon both English common law and natural law, a right logically linked to the natural right of self-defense. — Janice Rogers Brown, California Supreme Court Justice
The Framers of the Bill of Rights did not purport to "create" rights. Rather they designed the Bill of Rights to prohibit our Government from infringing rights and liberties presumed to be preexisting. — Justice William J. Brennan (1906-1997) US Supreme Court Justice, 1982
The fundamental force behind the Second Amendment is to empower the people and give them the greatest measure of authority over the tyranny of runaway government. — Bob Schaffer, US Congressman, 2002
The great body of our citizens shoot less as times goes on. We should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys, and indeed among all classes, as well as in the military services by every means in our power. Thus, and not otherwise, may we be able to assist in preserving peace in the world....The first step -- in the direction of preparation to avert war if possible, and to be fit for war if it should come -- is to teach men to shoot! — Theodore Roosevelt, US President
The greater dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding. — Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis
The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun. — Patrick Henry
The gun-control lobby has long peddled the myth that gun ownership causes crime. But...the urban barbarism that has turned our streets into battlegrounds and our classrooms into killing fields will not be stopped by an assault on the Second Amendment. — Pat Buchanan
The 'gun-free zone' fraud isn't just about banning firearms or even a symptom of academia's distaste for an entire sensibility of which the Second Amendment is part and parcel, but part of a deeper reluctance of critical segments of our culture to engage with reality. — Mark Steyn
The gun has been called the great equalizer, meaning that a small person with a gun is equal to a large person, but it is a great equalizer in another way, too. It insures that the people are the equal of their government whenever that government forgets that it is servant and not master of the governed. When the British forgot that they got a revolution. And, as a result, we Americans got a Constitution; a Constitution that, as those who wrote it were determined, would keep men free. If we give up part of that Constitution we give up part of our freedom and increase the chance that we will lose it all. I am not ready to take that risk. I believe that the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms must not be infringed if liberty in America is to survive. — Ronald Reagan, US President
The habit of declaring sympathy for the enemy will no longer be tolerated. — General Ambrose E. Burnside
The handgun would not be my choice of weapon if I knew I was Going to a fight. I'd choose a rifle, a shotgun, an RPG or an atomic Bomb instead. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
The incidents piled up but the police never arrested Davidson. Instead, they expressed annoyance at Cathy Ford's frequent calls, telling her there was nothing they could do, that they were not a ''baby-sitting'' service, that she should buy a gun if she wanted real protection. — Eileen McNamara, Boston Globe, 13 May 1998
The individual right of the people to keep and bear arms for security and defense of self, family, others, property, or the state, as well as for other lawful purposes shall not be infringed. — Utah State Constitution, Article I, Section 6
The international community has decided that firearms regulation is at the core of democracy and good government. — Eric Kibuka, United Nations official at the United Nations' second regional workshop on firearms regulation in Tanzania
Their ignorance is pitiful -- their lives have been too easy. Had they experienced Dachau, they would have a better idea of how precious freedom is. These leftist should leave America. These Sarah Brady types must be educated to understand that because we have an armed citizenry, that a dictatorship has not yet happened in America. These anti-gun fools are more dangerous to Liberty than street criminals or foreign spies. — Theodore Haas, Holocaust Survivor
The liberals have no objection to guns, only to guns they do not control. — Congressman Earl Landgrebe
The majority of peace officers I've talked to agree that gun laws only result in armed criminals preying on defenseless citizens. Instead of useless anti-gun owner legislation, what we need and need right now are tough anti-crime measures. Anti-gun bills only cloud the real issue. And those of us who actually battle crime pay the price. — Lt. Harry Thomas, Cincinnati Police Division, American Rifleman, Aug 1989
The media insist that crime is the major concern of the American public today. In this connection they generally push the point that a disarmed society would be a crime-free society. They will not accept the truth that if you take all the guns off the street you still will have a crime problem, whereas if you take the criminals off the street you cannot have a gun problem. — Col. Jeff Cooper
The metric system did not really catch on in the States, unless you count the increasing popularity of the nine-millimeter bullet. — Dave Barry
The militia is our ultimate safety. We can have no security without it. The great object is that every man be armed. — Patrick Henry
The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age. — Title 10, Section 311, US Code
The more I learn of my government, the more I love my guns. — Patrick Sperry
The most dangerous action a woman can take when faced with a criminal is to resist with her fists: That tends to annoy violent criminals, and the woman will very likely be seriously injured. But a woman who takes the advice of Handgun Control Inc. and passively submits is 2.5 times more likely to be injured than a woman who resists with a gun. So if you don't want to lie back and enjoy it, get a gun. Otherwise you may never become a mom. — Ann Coulter
The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so. — Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), 11 Apr 1942, quoted in Hitler's Tischegesprache Im Fuhrerhauptquartier 1941-1942.
The much-overused claim -- cited on Web sites ranging from Handgun-Free America to the Violence Policy Center -- that "teddy bears are much more highly regulated than guns" is nothing but a bunch of grizzly dung. When was the last time you read about a teddy bear maker having to get a license from the federal government before cutting felt and fuzzy fabric? Does the bear maker have to identify each and every toy by a unique serial number and account for each bear at every step of manufacture, storage, shipping, distribution and sale? Does every toy store or individual bear dealer have to get a license from the feds to sell teddies? Does every store and dealer have to keep accurate written records of every single toy sold, under penalty of felony conviction? Are bear sales limited by the age and background of the purchaser? And does the purchase of every bear have to be approved by the FBI? If someone steals a teddy bear, is it a felony? So much for an unregulated gun industry. — Jill "J.R." Labbe, Star-Telegram senior editorial writer, 27 Jul 2003
The national guard fulfills the the militia mentioned in the Second Amendment. Citizens no longer need to protect the states or themselves. — Dianne Feinstein, US Senator
The necessary consequence of man's right to life is his right to self-defense. In a civilized society, force may be used only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use. All the reasons which make the initiation of force an evil, make the retaliatory use of physical force a moral imperative." "If some 'pacifist' society renounced the retaliatory use of force, it would be left helplessly at the mercy of the first thug who decided to be immoral. Such a society would achieve the opposite of its intention: instead of abolishing evil, it would encourage and reward it. — Ayn Rand, 1962, from The Virtue of Selfishness
The next time Democrats talk to you about gun control, telephone for the police and a pizza and see who gets there first. — Author Unknown
The notion that guns are evil is one of the most dishonest and hypocritical arguments of the left. The fact that Rosie O'Donnell ranted and screamed about banning guns, then employed an armed bodyguard for her kids, should have given any intelligent person cause to distrust the anti-gun crowd. "Whether or not my family is in need of armed guards," she told People magazine, "that doesn't change my position on gun control." If she and her family are threatened, then they should be protected with guns. However, if you and your family are threatened, you should not be allowed access to guns. Very nice. — Phil Valentine, WorldNetDaily.com, 12 Sep 2003
...the NRA, which is an extremist organization...believe people should be allowed to have bazookas and tanks... — Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) in a 1996 PBS debate Bill McCollum
The old sheriff was attending an awards dinner when a lady commented on his wearing his sidearm. "Sheriff, I see you have your pistol. Are you expecting trouble?" "No, Ma'am. If I were expecting trouble, I would have brought my rifle." — Author Unknown
The one weapon every man, soldier, sailor, or airman--should be able to use effectively is the rifle. It is always his weapon of personal safety in an emergency, and for many it is the primary weapon of offence and defense. Expertness in its use cannot be over emphasized. — Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), US President
...the only people who use them [so-called assault weapons] are mass murderers... — Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) in a 1996 PBS debate Bill McCollum
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. — Wayne LaPierre, NRA Executive Vice President
The only way to discourage the gun culture is to remove the guns from the hands and shoulders of people who are not in the law enforcement business. — New York Times, 24 Sep 1975
The outrageous metaphor -- 'gun violence' -- is now universally accepted. You probably heard it today on TV or on the radio. But we never hear about car violence, word violence, or hammer violence. The transformational metaphor that guns are like germs or disease has created a national gestalt allowing guns to be addressed as a 'public heath issue' by misguided medical professionals. the CDC pretends to treat the "gun violence epidemic." — Jon Haupt
The ownership of firearms by modern Americans is important not just for practical reasons (such as protecting homes from criminal invaders) but for moral ones. A homeowner who never has to use his gun for self-defense still possesses something that his unarmed next-door neighbor does not: he has made the decision that he, personally, will take responsibility for defending his family. The armed homeowner's self-reliance has powerful moral consequences, as does the disarmed neighbor's decision that his family's safety will depend exclusively on the government, and not on himself. — David B. Kopel
The peaceable part of mankind will be continually overrun by the vile and abandoned while they neglect the means of self-defense. — Thomas Paine
The people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms. — Tench Coxe
[T]he people are not to be disarmed of their weapons. They are left in full possession of them. — Zachariah Johnson (speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 25 June 1778)
The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security. — Ohio State Constitution
The people with the guns make the rules. That's why the founders wrote the Second Amendment. — Wayne Lapierre
The people who work against your gun rights are basically saying to you, "The right of the criminal to rip you off, rape and kill you shall not be infringed." And they wonder why we're a bit testy. — Editor, Kaba Liberty Advocate, 30 Jul 2001
The philosophy of gun control: Teenagers are roaring through town at 90 MPH, where the speed limit is 25. Your solution is to lower the speed limit to 20. — Samuel T. Cohen, inventor of the Neutron Bomb on a good gun control analogy
The phrase 'the right of the people' or some variation of it appears repeatedly in the Bill of Rights, and nowhere does it actually mean 'the right of the government.' When the Bill of Rights was written and adopted, the rights that mattered politically were of one sort -- an individual's, or a minority's, right to be free from interference from the state. Today, rights are most often thought of as an entitlement to receive something from the state, as opposed to a freedom from interference by the state. The Second Amendment is, in our view, clearly a right of the latter sort. — Wall Street Journal, Editorial, Nov 2007
The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. It's documented that they had guns. They built the first schoolhouse in 1625. We went about 350 years in this country before there was a school shooting. Obviously, guns aren't the problem. — James Gregory
The plain meaning of the right of the people to bear arms is that it is an individual right and is not limited to keeping arms while engaged in military service or as a member of a select militia such as the National Guard… It appears clear that 'the people,' as used in the Constitution, including the Second Amendment, refers to individual Americans. — Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals in United States v. Emerson
The police cannot protect the citizen at this stage of our development, and they cannot even protect themselves in many cases. It is up to the private citizen to protect himself and his family, and this is not only acceptable, but mandatory. — Jeff Cooper
The possession of arms is the distinction between a freeman and a slave. He who has nothing, and belongs to another, must be defended by him, and needs no arms: but he who thinks he is his own master, and has anything he may call his own, ought to have arms to defend himself and what he possesses, or else he lives precariously and at discretion. And though for a while those who have the sword in their power abstain from doing him injury; yet, by degrees, he will be awed into submission to every arbitrary command. Our ancestors, by being always armed, and frequently in action, defended themselves against the Romans, Danes and English; and maintained their liberty against encroachments of their own princes. — Andrew Fletcher (1653-1716) Scottish Writer and Politician in (A Discourse of Government with Relation to Militias in Political Works 6, 1749, p 221)
The power of the sword, say the minority of Pennsylvania, is in the hands of Congress. My friends and countrymen, it is not so, for the powers of the sword are in the hands of the yeomanry of America from 16 to 60. The militia of these free commonwealths, entitled and accustomed to their arms, when compared with any possible army, must be tremendous and irresistible. Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Is it feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man against his own bosom? Congress has no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American. The 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. — Tench Coxe (1755-1824), writing as "the Pennsylvanian" in the
Philadelphia Federal Gazette, 20 Feb 1788
[The problem of urban youth violence] will not yield to simplistic, unicausal solutions. In this connection, it is useful to point out that everything that leads to gun-related violence is already against the law. What is needed are not new and more stringent gun laws but rather a concerted effort to rebuild the social structure of inner cities. — Dean Joseph Sheley, School of Social Science, California State University Sacramento
The prohibition is general. No clause in the Constitution could by any rule of construction be conceived to give to congress a power to disarm the people. Such a flagitious attempt could only be made under some general pretence by a state legislature. But if in any blind pursuit of inordinate power, either should attempt it, this amendment (Second Amendment) may be appealed to as a restraint on both. — William Rawle (1759-1836), American Lawyer (A View of the Constitution of the United States of America, 2d edition, 1829, p 125-26)
The provision in the Constitution granting the right to all persons to bear arms is a limitation upon the power of the Legislature to enact any law to the contrary. The exercise of a right guaranteed by the Constitution cannot be made subject to the will of the sheriff. — People vs. Zerillo (219 Mich. 635, 189 N.W. 927, at 928 (1922)
The purpose of fighting is to Win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more Important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The Final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental. — Author Unknown
[The purpose of the Bill of Rights is to] protect the liberty of individuals against the power of the central government… The right to bear arms is no less of a right than the right of free speech. The problem with liberals is that they wish to pick and chose between individual liberties and scuttle those with which they don't agree… — Mark Levin, Former Chief of Staff to Attorney General Edwin Meese
The purpose of the pistol is to stop a fight that somebody else has started, almost always at very short range. — Jeff Cooper
The qualifying phrase of the Second Amendment refers to a well-regulated militia. A well-regulated militia calls for men who can "shoot and salute," in Pershing's phrase. Since the militia, in the terms of George Mason, is made up of the "whole people," it would seem that the whole people should be well-qualified in the use of the national personal arm, which at this point is the M16. Thus, if we are to follow that line of thought, everybody should be qualified on the M16, which is, in the eyes of some people, a machine gun. What a shocking thought! — Jeff Cooper (Guns & Ammo Magazine, Nov 2002)
There ain't many troubles that a man cain't fix with seven hundred dollars and a thirty-aught six. — Jeff Cooper quoting son-in-law Joe Wisdom (Guns & Ammo Magazine, May, 2002)
There ain't no second place in a gunfight. — Bill Jordan
There are 83 million lawful and responsible gun owners in this country, and we're sick and tired of being treated like criminals. — Sam Cohen
There are hundreds of millions of gun owners in this country, and not one of them will have an accident today. The only misuse of guns comes in environments where there are drugs, alcohol, bad parents, and undisciplined children. Period. — Ted Nugent
There are literally millions of Americans who are outside the immediate reach and protection of any police organization. If you live in the country, or some remote suburb, it is not much consolation that the police are thirty minutes away when you're under attack by an armed hoodlum. — Jack Mohr
There are no dangerous weapons. There are only dangerous men. — Robert A. Heinlein
There are no good guns, There are no bad guns. A gun in the hands of a bad man is a bad thing. Any gun in the hands of a good man is no threat to anyone, except bad people. — Charleton Heston
There are only two real sports, hunting and fishing. Everything else is just a game. — Author Unknown
There are precious few horror films that couldn't be cut well short by a single loaded 12-gauge and someone with the sense to use it. — K. R. Murphy
There exists a law, not written down anywhere, but inborn in our hearts; a law which comes to us not by training or custom or reading but by derivation and absorption and adoption from nature itself; a law which has come to us not from theory but from practice, not by instruction but by natural intuition. I refer to the law which lays it down that, if our lives are endangered by plots or violence or armed robbers or enemies, any and every method of protecting ourselves is morally right. When weapons reduce them to silence, the laws no longer expect one to wait their pronouncements. For people who decide to wait for these will have to wait for justice, too -- and meanwhile they must suffer injustice first. Indeed, even the wisdom of a law itself, by sort of tacit implication, permits self-defense, because it is not actually forbidden to kill; what it does, instead, is to forbid the bearing of a weapon with the intention to kill. When, therefore, inquiry passes on the mere question of the weapon and starts to consider the motive, a man who is used arms in self-defense is not regard is having carried with a homicidal aim. — Marcus Tulius Cicero (106-43 BC), Roman Statesman in a prepared speech for the trial of T. Annius Milo in 52 BC
Therefore, let us resist evil, and whatsoever evil we cannot resist with our words, yea, such as rebellions and dissensions, let us resist them with our swords, that we may retain our freedom. — Book of Mormon, Alma 61:14
[There is a] fundamental principle of American law that a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any individual citizen. — Warren v District of Columbia, 1981
There is a passion for hunting something deeply implanted in the human breast. — Charles Dickens
There is little sense in gun registration. What we need to significantly enhance public safety is domestic disarmament....Domestic disarmament entails the removal of arms from private hands....Given the proper political support by the people who oppose the pro-gun lobby, legislation to remove the guns from private hands, acts like the legislation drafted by Senator John Chafee [to ban handguns], can be passed in short order. — Communitarian Network's The Case for Domestic Disarmament, signed by Henry Cisneros (Former Secretary of HUD) and Kurt Schmoke (Baltimore Mayor)
There is no constitutional right to be protected by the state against being murdered by criminals or madmen. — Bowers v DeVito, 686 F.2d 616, at 618 (7th Cir. 1982)
There is no doubt in my mind that millions of lives could have been saved if the people had not been 'brainwashed' about gun ownership and they had been well armed. Hitler's thugs and goons were not very brave when confronted by a gun. Gun haters always want to forget the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, which is a perfect example of how a ragtag, half starved group of Jews took up 10 handguns and made asses out of the Nazi's. — Theodore Haas, former prisoner of the infamous Dachau prisoner concentration camp
There is no evidence that anyone associated with drafting, debating, or ratifying the Second Amendment considered the right to arms anything other than a right of individual citizens. — Stephen Halbrook (That Every Man Be Armed, p 83)
There is no personal right to be armed for private purposes unrelated to the service in a well regulated militia. — Sarah Brady, Chairman, Handgun Control, Inc., Richmond Times-Dispatch, 6 Jun 97
There is no political correctness in a gunfight. — Gabe Suarez (Tactical Pistol Marksmanship, p 74)
There is no reason for anyone in this country, anyone except a police officer or a military person, to buy, to own, to have, to use a handgun. I used to think handguns could be controlled by laws about registration, by laws requiring waiting periods for purchasers, by laws making sellers check out the past of buyers. I now think the only way to control handgun use in this country is to prohibit the guns. And the only way to do that is to change the Constitution. — Michael Gartner, former president of NBC News (Glut of Guns: What Can We Do About Them?, USA Today, 16 Jan 1992, p 9A) (often erroneously attributed to Bill Clinton while signing the Brady Bill in 1993)
There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. — Edmund Burke
There is nothing quite like being surrounded by 40,000 other gun owners! — Tim Schmidt referring to the 2007 Shooting, Hunting & Outdoor Tradeshow in Orlando, Florida
There's nothing wrong with shooting so long as the right people get shot. — Dirty Harry Calahan aka Clint Eastwood
There is only one constitutional right in the United States which is absolute and that is your right to believe anything you want. — Sheila Kuehl, Democrat California State Senator (Huh?)
There is something so far-fetched and so extravagant in the idea of danger to liberty from the militia that one is at a loss whether to treat it with gravity or raillery. Where, in the name of common sense, are our fears to end if we may not trust our sons, our brothers, our neighbors, our fellow citizens? What shadow of danger can there be from men who are daily mingling with the rest of their countrymen and who participate with them in the same feelings, sentiments, habits and interests? What reasonable cause of apprehension can be inferred from a power in the Union to prescribe regulations for the militia, and to command its services when necessary, while the particular states are to have the sole and exclusive appointment of the officers? If it were possible seriously to indulge a jealousy of the militia upon any conceivable establishment under the federal government, the circumstance of the officers being in the appointment of the states ought at once to extinguish it. There can be no doubt that this circumstance will always secure to them a preponderating influence over the militia. — Alexander Hamilton, "Concerning the Militia," 29 Federalist Daily Advertiser, 10 Jan 1788
There never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword. — General Ulysses S. Grant
The repeated failure of the "gun-free zone" concept, most recently on September 11, has made it increasingly difficult for people to argue with a straight face that our Second Amendment rights are an outmoded relic of the past. Attorney General Ashcroft, and now one federal court of appeals, have recognized that the right of individuals to keep and bear arms does exist. But this is mostly a matter of government officials catching up with what much of the nation already believed. — Nelson Lund, professor of law at the George Mason University School of Law
There's a simple way to solve the crime problem: obey the law; punish those who do not. — Rush Limbaugh
There should be no doubt as to the true purpose of the Second Amendment, despite the platitudes of politicians who sermonize about public safety and the lengthy dicta of some federal judges who attempt to rewrite history and want us to believe that words do not mean what they say, and that we should passively defer to our political leaders for our protection. The Right is not simply about the right to hunt ducks or shoot clay pigeons. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is ultimately about the absolute Right of a free People to ensure that they always possess the collective capability to claim and exercise the Right of Revolution, if necessary, to secure Redress against constitutional torts and tyrannical government. The Individual Right to defend one’s life and Liberty is self-evident. The Right to throw off tyranny and despotism is merely an extension of the individual Right. — We The People Foundation
The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles. — Col. Jeff Cooper
The rifle is the weapon of democracy. If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military. The hired servants of our rulers. Only the government - and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws. — Edward Abbey
The right is absolute...government has no authority to forbid me from owning a firearm...the debate is not about guns. It is about freedom. — Tom McClintock, California State Senator, 9 Jun 2001
The right of citizens to bear arms is just one guarantee against arbitrary government, one more safeguard against the tyrany which now appears remote in America, but which historically has proven to always be possible. — Hubert Humphrey, US Senator
The right of self defense is the first law of nature; in most nations it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to bear arms is, under any colour or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction. — Henry St. George Tucker (Blackstone's Commentaries on the Law of England, page 300, 1803)
The right of self preservation, in turn, was understood as the right to defend oneself against attacks by lawless individuals, or, if absolutely necessary, to resist and throw off a tyrannical government. — United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit (Parker, et al. v. District of Columbia, Case No. 04-7041, decided 9 Mar 2007)
The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the state shall not be questioned. — Falsely Attributed to James Madison
The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them. — Joseph Story, US Supreme Court, 1833
The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed, and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country; but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms, shall be compelled to render military service in person. — James Madison, first draft of the Second Amendment, 8 Jun 1789
The right of the people to keep and bear...arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country..." — James Madison, Annals of Congress, 8 Jun 1789
The right of the whole people, old and young, men, women and boys, and not militia only, to keep and bear arms of every description, and not such merely as are used by the militia, shall not be infringed, curtailed, or broken in upon, in the smallest degree; and all this for the important end to be attained: the rearing up and qualifying a well-regulated militia, so vitally necessary to the security of a free State. Our opinion is that any law, State or Federal, is repugnant to the Constitution, and void, which contravenes this right. — Nunn v. State (Georgia, 1846)
The rights of conscience, of bearing arms, of changing the government, are declared to be inherent in the people. — Fisher Ames
The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of the republic; since it offers a strong moral check against usurpation and arbitrary power of the rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them. — Justice Joseph Story (Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 1833)
The right of the people to keep and bear arms has been recognized by the General Governemnt; but the best security of that right after all is, the military spirit, that taste for martial exercises, which has always distinguished the free citizens of these States.... Such men form the best barrier to the liberties of America. — Gazette of the United States, 14 Oct 1789
The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed and this may be considered as the true palladium of liberty....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 the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction. In England, the people have been disarmed, generally, under the specious pretext of preserving the game. True it is, their bill of rights seems at first view to counteract this policy: but the right of bearing arms is confined to protestants, and the words suitable to their condition and degree, have been interpreted to authorise the prohibition of keeping a gun or other engine for the destruction of game, to any farmer, or inferior tradesman, or other person not qualified to kill game. So that not one man in five hundred can keep a gun in his house without being subject to a penalty! — George Tucker (1752-1828), Colonel, Virginia Militia
The right to bear arms is a bulwark against external invasion…That we have a lawfully armed populace adds a measure of security for all of us and makes it less likely that a band of terrorists could make headway in an attack on any community before more professional forces arrived. — Judge Ronald M. Gould, US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Apr 2009
The right to be armed is the security without which every other is insufficient. — Thomas Babington Macauley
The right to buy weapons is the right to be free. — A.E. Van Vogt
The said constitution [shall] never be construed to authorize congress to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms. — Philadelphia Independent Gazetteer, 20 Aug 1788 (Erroneously attributed to Samuel Adams)
The same liberties that ensure a free society make the innocent vulnerable to those who prevent rights and privileges and commit senseless and cruel acts. Those precious liberties include free speech, freedom to assemble, freedom of liberties, access to public places, the right to bear arms and freedom from constant surveillance. We are not willing to sacrifice these rights because of the acts of maniacs. — Harriet Myers (Texas lawyer, 1992)
These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. — Thomas Paine (The American Crisis, No. 1, 19 Dec 1776)
The Second Amendment applies only to limitations the federal government seeks to impose on this right. — Judge Sonia Sotomayor (Maloney v. Cuomo, 2009)
The (Second) Amendment does not protect 'the right of militiamen to keep and bear arms,' but rather 'the right of the people'....The operative clause, properly read, protects the ownership and use of weaponry beyond that needed to preserve the state militias. Again, we point out that if the competent drafters of the Second Amendment had meant the right to be limited to the protection of state militias, it is hard to imagine that they would have chosen the language they did. We therefore take it as an expression of the drafters’ view that the people possessed a natural right to keep and bear arms, and that the preservation of the militia was the right’s most salient political benefit—and thus the most appropriate to express in a political document. — District of Columbia Circuit Court, 9 Mar 2007
The Second Amendment does not say that "the people shall have a right to keep and bear Arms." It says, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." The amendment does not create the right -- it recognizes it. This is important because it puts the amendment's preamble -- "a well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State" -- into perspective. The anti-gun lobby says this means only that states may arm their national guards. But the Framers did not attribute rights to states, only to persons. The one reference to the states in the Bill of Rights is about powers, not rights. The militia is mentioned in the amendment only to explain that a citizen-based defense (the militia) will be effective only if people know how to use guns, and that proficiency with guns depends on individuals' being free to possess them. Hence, "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." — Sheldon Richman, Senior Fellow at The Future of Freedom Foundation, 19 May 2002
The Second Amendment is in place in case they ignore the others. — Author Unknown
The Second Amendment is not about duck hunting; it's about our right to be able to protect ourselves from all of you guys up there. — Dr. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, a survivor of the Killeen, Texas Luby's massacre, appearing before Congressman Charles Schumer's (D-NY) committee hearings on the assault weapons ban, 1994
The Second Amendment isn't about hunting and sport shooting. It's about saving the lives of men, women and children from the next Hitler, Stalin, Mao or Pol Pot. A well regulated militia, that is every adult that can physically carry a weapon, is the surest way to prevent the next Holocaust. — Knitebane
The Second Amendment isn't about protecting ourselves against criminals. It's about all of us protecting ourselves from all of you. — Dr. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, a survivor of the Killeen, Texas Luby's massacre, appearing before Congressman Charles Schumer's (D-NY) committee hearings on the assault weapons ban, 1994
The Second Amendment is the original homeland security plan. — NRA T-shirt
The Second Amendment, like the First, Fourth, and Ninth Amendments, refers to a "right of the people," not a right of the states or a right of the National Guard. — Eugene Volokh on the Second Amendment, Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Sept. 23, 1998. reprinted as A Right of the People, California Political Review, Nov/Dec 1998, p. 23
The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. — Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, 26 Jun, 2008
The Second Amendment similarly appears to contain an express limitation on the government's authority. — Clarence Thomas, US Supreme Court
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right of each law-abiding United States citizen to own a firearm for any legitimate purpose, including self-defense or recreation....It is the sense of the Senate that:...The right of each law-abiding United States citizen to own a firearm for any legitimate purpose, including self-defense or recreation, should not be infringed. — US Senate Resolution passed on 17 May, 2000
The second article of amendment (Second Amendment) to the Constitution of the United States is repealed. — US House Joint Resolution 438 introduced 11 Mar 1992 by Congressman Owens, D-NY
The semi-automatic weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons -- anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun -- can only increase that chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons. — Josh Sugarmann of the Violence Policy Center, 1988
These Sarah Brady types must be educated to understand that because we have an armed citizenry, that a dictatorship has not happened in America. These anti-gun fools are more dangerous to Liberty than street criminals or foreign spies. — Theodore Haas, Dachau Survivor
The slaying, and those that preceded it and will follow it, certainly will intensify cries for more police and harsher penalties for criminals. But as long as the type of knife used to kill Watkins is sold in half of the variety stores in Times Square, it will be difficult to recruit enough police to erase this crime wave. — Michael Specter, Washington Post reporter on the stabbing of a Utah man in New York, 6 Sep 1990
The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities. — Ayn Rand
The solutions that Democrats have followed as a party, that the Clinton Administration has followed, that the Democratic members of Congress have followed, those positions we win every time with Americans. We win on gun control. — Ed Rendell, Democratic National Committee news conference, September 23, 1999
The strongest gun legislation...I will enforce diligently and exhaustively. — Louis Freeh, FBI Director, U.S. Senate Confirmation Hearings, 1993
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. — Falsely attributed to Thomas Jefferson
The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside....Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them. — Thomas Paine (1737-1809), I Writings of Thomas Paine at 56, 1894
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 pretense, raised in the United States. — Noah Webster
The Supreme Court (Haynes Vs. US, 1968) ruled that the government cannot prosecute someone for not registering a gun if that person is prohibited from having a gun. That is, convicted felons are exempt from all gun registration laws! Why does Al Gore want to make honest people register their guns when he knows that the law prohibits him from making criminals register their guns. — Tom Gresham (www.guntalk.com)
The theory of the legislation is that eliminating the ready availability of these cheap guns [so-called Saturday-night specials] will deprive criminals of a significant source of arms, and thus reduce the number of violent crimes. We doubt it....Drying up legal sources of guns might cause criminals some inconvenience, but criminals by definition are law-breakers and they will obtain guns suitable for their nefarious purposes. — Editorial in The Indianapolis Star, 12 Aug 1972
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. ... God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion; what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. — Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, and Right Wing Extremist, to William Stephens Smith, 1787
The true Soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him. — GK Chesterton
The two most important rules in a gunfight are: always cheat and always win. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
The unarmed man is not just defenseless; he is also contemptible. — Machiavelli
The United States believes that the responsible use of firearms is a legitimate aspect of national life....We do not support measures that prohibit civilian possession of small arms....The United States will not join consensus on a final document that contains measures abrogating the Constitutional right to ban arms. — John R. Bolton, US Under Secretary of State at the UN Conference in the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, 9 Jul 2001
The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state government, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people. — Tench Coxe (Pennsylvania Gazette, 20 Feb 1788)
The US Constitution guarantees the rights of our citizens to keep and bear arms, and there will be no infringement of those rights. — Robert G. Joseph, under secretary of state for arms control and international security affairs, Jun 2006
The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good. — George Washington
The very essence of all of this is, that you deprive a man of a liberty because he might abuse it. And I respectfully submit to you, that if you can restrict, restrain or abolish a liberty because it might be abused, then you have lost everything — Harlon Carter
The vote, I thought, means nothing to women. We should be armed. — Edna O'Brien
The wages of sin - the grievous sin of disregarding or suppressing the Bill of Rights (think about New York City, where everybody expects to get mugged from time to time in what's supposed to be the center of the greatest civilization in all the world) - are death. — L. Neil Smith
The weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons --anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun -- can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons. In addition, few people can envision a practical use for these weapons. — Josh Sugarmann Founder of the Violence Policy Center, Assault Weapons and Accessories in America, 1988
The whole history of mankind proves that so far from parting with the powers actually delegated to it, government is constantly encroaching on the small pittance of rights reserved by the people to themselves and gradually wresting them out of their hands until it either terminates in their slavery or forces them to arms, and brings about a revolution. — Luther Martin, Delegate to the Philadelphia Convention, 28 Mar 1788
The whole of the Bill [of Rights] is a declaration of the right of the people at large or considered as individuals.... It establishes some rights of the individual as unalienable and which consequently, no majority has a right to deprive them of. — Albert Gallatin of the New York Historical Society, 7 Oct 1789
The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns, we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise they will win and the decent people will lose. — James Earl Jones
They'll have to shoot me first to take my gun. — Roy Rogers
They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? — Patrick Henry, 1775
They that are on their guard and appear ready to receive their adversaries, are in much less danger of being attacked than the supine, secure and egligent. — Benjamin Franklin
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. — Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
Think back to your high school American history class. You will remember that the first battle of the American War of Independence was fought over government confiscation of firearms. Why, then, do you think liberals believe gun control and gun registration are so important? — Blaine Nay
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. — Bible Matthew 10:34
Though defensive violence will always be a sad necessity in the eyes of men of principle, it would be still more unfortunate if wrongdoers should dominate just men. — St. Augustine
Those now possessing weapons and ammunition are at once to turn them over to the local police authority. Firearms and ammunition found in a Jew's possession will be forfeited to the government without compensation ... Whoever willfully or negligently violates the provisions ... will be punished with imprisonment and a fine. — Nazi Law, Regulations Against Jews' Possession of Weapons, 11 Nov 1938, German Minister of the Interior
[Those] who are trying to read the Second Amendment out of the Constitution by claiming it's not an individual right [are] courting disaster by encouraging others to use the same means to eliminate portions of the Constitution they don't like. — Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law School
Those who debated and framed the Bill of Rights were educated in practical political concepts and doubtless recognized that an opening gambit for tyrants is to disarm the public. If the Second Amendment is held to protect only a state-regulated militia, then there would be no constitutional bar to a federal government outlawing possession of all arms by hunters and those with legitimate needs for protection. A general confiscation of guns could become the order of the day. I believe that result is foreclosed by the salient purpose of the Second Amendment to guard against tyranny, and that an individual right to keep and bear arms must be recognized....I reach this conclusion despite a recognition that many may think that these ideas are outmoded, that there is no risk in modern times of our government becoming a tyranny, and that there is little threat that others would invade our shores or attack our heartland. However, the Second Amendment was designed by the Framers of our Constitution to safeguard our Nation not only in times of good government, such as we have enjoyed for generations, but also in the event, however unlikely, that our government or leaders would go bad. . . . As the people bear the risk of loss of their freedom and the pain of any attack, our Constitution provides that the people have a right to participate in defense of the Nation. The Second Amendment protects that fundamental right. — U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, 18 Feb 2003, Nordyke v. King
Those who favor gun control fall into two basic groups. The hard core who's true goal is "people control" and those who are just ignorant on the subject and only know what they hear in the media. — Jack Burton
Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not. — Author Unknown, attributed to Thomas Jefferson
Those, who have the command of the arms in a country are masters of the state, and have it in their power to make what revolutions they please. [Thus,] there is no end to observations on the difference between the measures likely to be pursued by a minister backed by a standing army, and those of a court awed by the fear of an armed people. — John Trenchard (1662-1723)
Though defensive violence will always be 'a sad necessity' in the eyes of men of principle, it would be still more unfortunate if wrongdoers should dominate just men. — St. Augustine, 354-430 AD
Thunder Ranch will be here as long as you'll have us or until someone makes us go away. Either way, it'll be exciting. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
To ban guns because criminals use them is to tell the innocent and law-abiding that their rights and liberties depend not on their own conduct, but on the conduct of the guilty and the lawless, and that the law will permit them to have only such rights and liberties as the lawless will allow... For society does not control crime, ever, by forcing the law-abiding to accommodate themselves to the expected behavior of criminals. Society controls crime by forcing the criminals to accommodate themselves to the expected behavior of the law-abiding. — Jeff Snyder, author American Handgunner, Second Amendment Foundation Officer
To be civilized is to restrain the ability to commit mayhem. To be incapable of committing mayhem is not the mark of the civilized, merely the domesticated. — Black Puma
Today we need a nation of Militiamen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom. — John F. Kennedy, US President
To disarm the people [is] the best and most effectual way to enslave them. — George Mason, 14 Jun 1788, 3 Elliot, Debates
To expect bad people not to do wrong is madness, for he who expects this desires an impossibility. But to allow people to behave so to others, and to expect them not to do you any wrong, is irrational and tyrannical. — Marcus Aurelius
To hell with the constitution.... — Mike Roos, 1989, California Assemblyman on the constitutionality of the Roberti-Roos assault weapon ban
To make inexpensive guns impossible to get is to say that you're putting a money test on getting a gun. It's racism in its worst form. — Roy Innis, President of the Congress of Racial Equality
To my mind it is wholly irresponsible to go into the world incapable of preventing violence, injury, crime, and death. How feeble is the mindset to accept defenselessness. How unnatural. How cheap. How cowardly. How pathetic. — Ted Nugent
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, Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republic (1787-1788)
To prohibit a citizen from wearing or carrying a war arm...is an unwarranted restriction upon the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. — Wilson v. State, 1878
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, counties 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. The fundamental law of the militia is, that it be created, directed and commanded by the laws, and ever for the support of the laws. — John Adams, A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, 1787-1788
To the media, the NRA equals 'lobbyists', while Handgun Control Inc. equals 'advocates.' — Larry Elder
To the people of Philadelphia, guns aren't used for sport, guns aren't used for recreation. Guns aren't even very successfully used for protection. Guns are used for killing people. — Ed Rendell, ABC Nightline, 26 May 1998
Treasonous politicians have unconstitutionally passed mala prohibita laws barring, not predatory criminals, but instead law-abiding citizens from the God-given, Constitutionally-guaranteed inalienable right to justifiably immediately protect their own lives and those of their precious families. — Bob Roberts
Twenty-five States allow anyone to buy a gun, strap it on, and walk down the street with no permit of any kind. Some say it's crazy. However, 4 out of 5 US murders are committed in the other half of the country. So who is crazy? — Andrew Ford
[Tyranny cannot be safe] without a standing army, an enslaved press, and a disarmed populace. — James Madison, in his autobiography
Tyrants always start out with small measures that appear reasonable. Revealing their complete agenda from the start would encounter too much resistance. — Walter Williams
Ultimately, a civilized society must disarm its citizenry if it is to have a modicum of domestic tranquility of the kind enjoyed by sister democracies such as Canada and Britain. Given the frontier history and individualist ideology of the United States, however, this will not come easily. It certainly cannot be done radically. It will probably take one, maybe two generations. It might be 50 years before the United States gets to where Britain is today. Passing a law like the assault weapons ban is a symbolic - purely symbolic - move in that direction. Its only real justification is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation. — Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 5 Apr 1996, Page A19
Ultimately, I would like to see the manufacture and possession of handguns banned except for military and police. But that's the endgame. — US Rep Bobby Rush, Chicago Tribune, 5 Dec 1999
Unarmed citizens certainly help police in maintaining a job. If the law-abiding citizen does not possess arms to defend himself then he must rely on the police. Firearms are not the problem. Criminals are. A sharpened stick in the hands of a thug is more dangerous to a police officer than a fully automatic Thompson in the hands of a lawful citizen. Just because some evil men do evil things is not sufficient reason to restrict the freedoms of the good men who exist. I have nothing but contempt for any man (or so they call themselves) who thinks I should be disarmed just because some scumbag would shoot him in the back. Am I that scumbag? No. So why treat me like such? — Jason
Under every government the dernier [Fr. last, or final] resort of the people, is an appeal to the sword; whether to defend themselves against the open attacks of a foreign enemy, or to check the insidious encroachments of domestic foes. Whenever a people... entrust the defence of their country to a regular, standing army, composed of mercenaries, the power of that country will remain under the direction of the most wealthy citizens. — Anonymous 'framer' of the US Constitution (Independent Gazetteer, 29 Jan 1791)
Until we can ban all of them we might as well ban none. — Howard Metzenbaum, US Senator, Senate Hearings, 1993
Using inner city kids as your proof that guns and kids don’t mix, is like using an alcoholic to prove all people will abuse alcohol. — Lori Broadhead
Waiting periods are only a step. Registration is only a step. The prohibition of private firearms is the goal. — Janet Reno, US Attorney General
Weapons are the tools of power. In the hands of the state, they can be the tools of decency or the tools of oppression, depending on the righteousness of that state. In the hands of criminals, they are the tools of evil. In the hands of the free and decent citizen, they should be the tools of liberty. Weapons compound man's power to achieve whatever purpose he may have. They amplify the capabilities of both the good man and the bad, and to exactly the same degree, having no will of their own. Thus, we must regard them as servants, not masters -- and good servants of good men. Without them, man is diminished, and his opportunities to fulfill his destiny are lessened. An unarmed man can only flee from evil, an devil is not overcome by fleeing from it. — Jeff Cooper
We are annoyed by the assumption on the part of certain public figures that the citizen should be able to prove the need to acquire a means of protecting himself. The citizen's personal needs are no business of the state. Liberty, when in place, grants the right of the citizen to do what he chooses as long as he does not stamp on the rights of others. Nobody needs caviar or a pleasure boat or opera tickets. Whether he wants this things is, again, no business of the state. -- Colonel Jeff Cooper, Aug 2006
We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States....We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state. — Wayne Pacelle, Executive Director of the Humane Society of the United States, formerly of Friends of Animals and Fund for Animals, Full Cry Magazine, 1 Oct 1990
We are in danger of forgetting that the Bill of Rights reflects experience with police excesses. It is not only under Nazi rule that police excesses are inimical to freedom. It is easy to make light of insistence on scrupulous regard for the safeguards of civil liberties when invoked on behalf of the unworthy. It is too easy. History bears testimony that by such disregard are the rights of liberty extinguished, heedlessly at first, then stealthily and then brazenly and brazenly in the end. — Felix Frankfurter, US Supreme Court Justice
We are taking the law and bending it as far as we can to capture a whole new class of guns [to ban]. — Jose Cerda, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 1997, Mr. Cerda was named as a White House Official who specializes in gun control
...we believe that all men are justified in defending themselves, their friends, and property, and the government, from the unlawful assaults and encroachments of all persons in times of exigency, where immediate appeal cannot be made to the laws, and relief afforded. —
Doctrine & Covenants 134:11
We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. — Thomas Jefferson
We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans to legitimately own handguns and rifles... — Bill Clinton, US President (USA Today, 11 Mar 1993, page 2a)
We continue to be exasperated by the view, apparently gaining momentum in certain circles, that armed robbery is OK as long as nobody gets hurt! The proper solution to armed robbery is a dead robber. It is the responsibility of the victim to turn the tables and demolish the robber. Street crime will cease only when the perpetrator becomes convinced that his operations will almost surely result in his death. — Jeff Cooper, Feb 1992
We could tax them [firearms] out of existence. — Daniel Patrick Moynihan, US Senator, Washington Post, 4 Nov 93
We don't let them have ideas. Why would we let them have guns? — Joseph Stalin
We find that the history of the Second Amendment reinforces the plain meaning of its text, namely that it protects individual Americans in their right to keep and bear arms whether or not they are a member of a select militia or performing active military service or training. — Judge William L. Garwood, Fifth District Court of Appeals, US v Emerson opinion, 16 Oct 2001
We have found no historical evidence that the Second Amendment was intended to convey militia power to the states, limit the federal government's power to maintain a standing army, or applies only to members of a select militia while on active duty. All of the evidence indicates that the Second Amendment, like other parts of the Bill of Rights, applies to and protects individual Americans. — Fifth District Court of Appeals, US v Emerson opinion, 16 Oct 2001
We hear of an unfortunate woman who, during an nighttime asthma attack, confused the small handgun she kept under her pillow with an asthma inhaler and proceeded to relieve her symptoms. It was not a fatal mistake, partly because she used a .25 ACP, which everyone knows is not sufficient to clear sinuses. — Jeff Cooper
We'll keep fighting the NRA, the gun makers, the gun dealers, the gangbangers and everyone else who refuses to accept the undeniable fact that guns and kids don't mix. — Arne Duncan (1964- ) United States Secretary of Education under the Obama Administration
We may be thankful that frightened civil authorities...have not managed to eradicate from the country the tradition of the possession and use of firearms, that profound and almost instinctive tradition of Americans. Luckily for us, our tradition of bearing arms has not gone from the country, the tradition is so deep and dear to us that it is one of the most treasured parts of the Bill of Rights -- the right of all Americans to bear arms, with the implication that they will know how to use them. — John Steinbeck
We must be able to arrest people before they commit crimes. By registering guns and knowing who has them we can do that....If they have guns they are pretty likely to commit a crime. — Mary Ann Carlson, Vermont State Senator
We must get rid of all the guns. — Sarah Brady, President of Handgun Control, Inc. on Phil Donahue Show, Sep 1994
We must reverse this psychology (of needing guns for home defense). We can do it by passing a law that says anyone found in possession a handgun except a legitimate officer of the law goes to jail-period! — Carl Rowan, Washington DC Syndicated Columnist, 1981
“We need bullet control! I think every bullet should cost five-thousand dollars. Because if a bullet cost five thousand dollars, we wouldn’t have any innocent bystanders. — Chris Rock, Comedian
We pass laws to register, ban, confiscate guns everyday, but no piece of paper can ever prevent thugs bent on doing harm. — Tom Brinkman, Member Ohio House of Representatives
We're going to hammer guns on the anvil of relentless legislative strategy. We're going to beat guns into submission! — Charles Schumer, US Senator (D-NY), 1993
We're going to have to take this one step at a time, and the first step is necessarily - given the political realities - going to be very modest. Right now, though, we'd be satisfied not with half a loaf but with a slice. Our ultimate goal - total control of all guns- is going to take time ... The final problem is to make the possession of all handguns and all handgun ammunition - except for the military, policemen, licensed security guards, licensed sporting clubs and licensed gun collectors - totally illegal. — Nelson T. Shields III, Founder of Handgun Control, Inc., New Yorker Magazine, p. 57-58, 26 Jul 1976
We're here to tell the NRA their nightmare is true!...We're going to hammer guns on the anvil of relentless legislative strategy! We're going to beat guns into submission! — Charles Schumer, US Representative, NBC Nightly News, 30 Nov 1993
We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. — George Orwell
We support the individual constitutionally-protected right of the people to keep and bear arms for security and defense of self, family, others, property, or the state, as well as for other lawful purposes. We encourage personal responsibility for the care and use of these firearms. — Self-Defense Plank of Utah Republican Party Platform, 2002
We will never disarm any American who seeks to protect his or her family from fear and harm. — Ronald Reagan
We would just go out and line up a bunch of cans and shoot with rifles, handguns and at times, submachine guns... When I was a kid it was a controlled atmosphere, we weren't shooting at humans... we were shooting at cans and bottles mostly. I will most certainly take my kids out for target practice. — Johnny Depp
What a crazy world we live in! Trying to treat addiction as a legal problem, and trying to treat criminal misbehaviors using guns as a medical problem! Beam me up, Scotty. Ain't no intelligent life down here. — Julie Cochrane
What are those rights, privileges and immunities? Without excluding others, three are specifically enumerated -- life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness....It follows that everything necessary for their establishment and defense is within those rights....Disarm a community and you rob them of the means of defending life. Take away their weapons of defense and you take away the inalienable right of defending liberty.... — Thaddeus Stevens
What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that the people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. — Thomas Jefferson (letter to William Stephens Smith, 1787. ME 6:373, Papers 12:356)
What diminishes a liberty you despise will inevitably diminish a liberty you cherish. — Tom Gresham
What good are gun rights and laws, if at the first sign of trouble, the authorities will just take the guns away, and we will just hand them over? — Jeff Snyder commenting on the confiscation of guns in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, 2005
What is a left-wing socialist but a Marxist without a gun? — Don Feder
What is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials. — George Mason, 1788
What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. Whenever governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins. — Elbridge Gerry, (1744-1814), Madison's Vice President, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Constitutional Convention delegate and one of the first congressmen from Massachusetts (Annals of Congress, 17 Aug 1789)
When a business posts a "No Guns" policy they are making a political statement whether that is their intent or not. They are also denigrating and insulting lawful gun owners -- particularly those who choose to carry. A "No Guns" sign serves no useful purpose beyond these insults and political posturing because the only people to whom such signs apply are the most conscientious and responsible gun owners. Criminals and the irresponsible simply ignore the signs and do exactly what they would have done without the signs, except with perhaps a greater sense of security knowing that conscientious, law-abiding gun owners have disarmed or gone somewhere else. Gun owners and rights supporters who are not angered and offended by these "We Don't Want Your Kind" signs posted on businesses they frequent are being as thoughtless and insensitive as the businesses themselves. These "No Guns" signs should elicit the same reaction from gun owners and our friends that "Whites Only" signs did among blacks and civil rights supporters in the 1960's. They are a personal insult and an assault on our liberty and anyone who can't see that is simply choosing not to. — Jeff Knox, 29 Oct 2009
When a government controls both the economic power of individuals and the coercive power of the state...this violates a fundamental rule of happy living: Never let the people with all the money and the people with all the guns be the same people. — PJ O'Rourke
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are safe. — Jesus Christ (Bible, Luke 11:21)
Whenever governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins. — Elbridge Gerry, (1744-1814), Madison's Vice President, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Constitutional Convention delegate and one of the first congressmen from Massachusetts
When firearms go, all goes - we need them every hour. — George Washington
When I carry a gun, I don’t do so because I’m looking for a fight, but because I’m looking to be left alone….I don’t carry it because I’m afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. — Marko Kloos
When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. — Jesus, Bible, Luke 22:35-36
When the ballot box and the jury box no longer work. Then it's probably nearing time for the cartridge box — Boston T. Party, Boston's Gun Bible
When the government fears the people there is liberty. When the people fear the government there is tyranny. — Author Unknown
When the history of the 20th century is finally written, one of its features will be the wanton slaughter of more than 170 million people, not in war, but by their own governments. The governments that led in this slaughter are the USSR (65 million) and the Peoples Republic of China (35-40 million). The point to remember is that these governments were the idols of American leftists. Part of the reason for these and other tyrannical successes was because the people were first disarmed. — Walter E Williams, syndicated columnist, Apr 2001
[W]hen 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, by totally disusing and neglecting the militia. I ask, who are the militia? They consist of now of the whole people, except a few public officers. But I cannot say who will be the militia of the future day. If that paper on the table gets no alteration, the militia of the future day may not consist of all classes, high and low, and rich and poor... — George Mason, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 14 Jun 1778
When we got organized as a country and we wrote a fairly radical Constitution with a radical Bill of Rights, giving a radical amount of individual freedom to Americans....And so a lot of people say there's too much personal freedom. When personal freedom's being abused, you have to move to limit it. That's what we did in the announcement I made last weekend on the public housing projects, about how we're going to have weapon sweeps and more things like that to try to make people safer in their communities. — President Bill Clinton (MTV's "Enough is Enough", 1994)
When you disarm your subjects...you offend them by showing that, either from cowardliness or lack of faith, you distrust them; and either conclusion will induce them to hate you. — Niccolo Machiavelli
When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. — Tuco
When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves. — Author Unknown
When you reload in low light encounters, don't put your flashlight in your back pocket. If you light yourself up, you'll look Like an angel or the tooth fairy...and you're gonna be one of 'em pretty soon. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
[W]hereas, 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; nor does it follow from this, that all promiscuously must go into actual service on every occasion. The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle; and when we see many men disposed to practice upon it, whenever they can prevail, no wonder true republicans are for carefully guarding against it. — Federal Farmer (Antifederalist Letter, No.18, 25 Jan 1778)
Where households plan for everything from unemployment to illness to auto insurance - how to handle the encounter with violent crime is the most neglected area of household management. — John Longenecker, author of Transfer of Wealth: The Case For Nationwide Concealed Carry
While every human being has a fundamental right to self-defense, and to the means of self defense, that no judge or legislature can alter or deny, America's Founding Fathers determined to protect that right -- by enshrining it among the first ten amendments to the new Constitution, commonly known as the Bill of Rights -- for a specific reason. In their view, effective weapons in private hands guaranteed that government would never be able to ride roughshod over individual rights in the manner so common, then and now, in other parts of the world. Allow me to put it more bluntly and succinctly -- although it's an indication of how far we've fallen from the Founders' ideal that many people reading this will regard it as controversial, shocking, perhaps even illegal. When the government's minions arrived on your doorstep to take you away, to kidnap your children, to steal your house, to rustle your livestock, or to do anything else to you that struck their fancy, the Founders wanted you and your neighbors to be able to kill them. That's what the Second Amendment is about, nothing more, nothing less. — L. Neil Smith
While the crime rate has fallen over the past decade, the number of people in prison and jail is outpacing the number of inmates released, said the [Bureau of Justice Statistics] report's co-author, Paige Harrison. — AP's Siobhan McDonough, totally bewildered that more criminals in prison translates to less crime, Apr 2005
While the people have property, arms in their hands, and only a spark of noble spirit, the most corrupt Congress must be mad to form any project of tyranny. — Rev. Nicholas Collin, Fayetteville Gazette (NC), 12 Oct 1789
Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American. — Tench Coxe, of Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania Gazette, 20 Feb 1788
Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Congress has no power to disarm the militia. 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. — Tench Coxe, ally of James Madison and member of the Continental Congress (Freeman's Journal, 20 Feb 20, 1778)
Who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers. — George Mason
Whoever considers the unprincipled enemy we have to to cope with, will not hesitate to declare that nothing but arms or miracles can reduce them to reason and moderation. — Thomas Paine,
Thoughts on Defensive War, 1775
Why carry a gun? It's a lighter burden than regret. —
Tim Schmidt
Why did you shoot only once? There's no additional paperwork for shooting someone twice! — Firearms Instructor P.O.J.D., MOS debriefing after a shooting
Why do I carry a gun? Because I can't carry a policeman. — Gunhilda
Why should America adopt a policy of near-zero tolerance for private gun ownership? Because it's the only alternative to the present insanity. Without both strict limits on access to new weapons and aggressive efforts to reduce the supply of existing weapons, no one can be safer....[W]ho can still argue compellingly that Americans can be trusted to handle guns safely? We think the time has come for America to tell the truth about guns. They are not for us. We cannot handle them. — Editorial, "Taming The Monster: Get Rid of the Guns",
Los Angeles Times, p B6, 28 Dec 1993
With a 10,000% tax we could tax them [guns] out of existence. — Daniel Patrick Moynihan, US Senator,
Washington Post, 4 Nov 1993
With all the gun laws we have, the bad guys still have guns and use them to shoot the good guys. — Mike Royko, syndicated columnist
Without doubt one is allowed to resist against the unjust aggressor to one's life, one's goods or one's physical integrity; sometimes, even 'til the aggressor’s death....In fact, this act is aimed at preserving one’s life or one’s goods and to make the aggressor powerless. Thus, it is a good act, which is the right of the victim. — Thomas Aquinas
Women must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself. — Susan B. Anthony, Jul 1871
Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion. —
Book of Mormon, Alma 43:47
Yes, I'm denying you your rights. — Tom Bradley, Los Angeles mayor, 1992, on constitutional rights at a "Save the Brady Bill" rally
You are responsible for what happens to you. — Fr. Frog
You can get further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone. — Joe Panza, 1970
You cannot arm slaves and expect them to remain slaves, nor can you disarm a free people and expect them to remain free. — Don Cline
You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass. — Source uncertain, attributed to Hideki Tojo, Prime Minister of Japan and to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (Japanese Navy) on why Japan never invaded the US mainland
You cannot save the planet. You may be able to save yourself and your family. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
You can say 'stop' or 'alto' or use any other word you think Will work but I've found that a large bore muzzle pointed at someone's Head is pretty much the universal language. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
You can spout all the anti-gun noise you want. You can tell me guns are 'macho' and 'masculine', and accuse me of trying to be like the 'big boys' if I carry one. I don't care. I've been raped, and I've decided that I would much rather defend myself than sit back quietly and be 'ladylike'. — Julie Batson
You can't pretend the wheat doesn't have head blight, a cow doesn't have blackleg, or that predators -- two-legged or four -- don't prey. You can maneuver away from some trouble, but threats have to be dealt with head-on. The Rockies, reinforced by Africa, have taught me food doesn't come from supermarkets, nor justice from courts, and safety doesn't pour from police stations. — Helena Connor (American Handgunner, Nov/Dec 2005, p 102)
You don't like the fact that you can't have a gun on your college campus? Drop out of school! — Peter Hamm, spokesman for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence
You don't need an Uzi to go deer hunting. You don`t need an AK-47 to go skeet shooting. — Bill Clinton (Note: Uzis use pistol ammunition not suitable for deer hunting. Skeet is a shotgun sport; AK-47s are rifles. Some politicians are idiots.)
You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive. — Author Unknown
You have plenty of rights in this country, provided you don’t get caught exercising them. — Terry Mitchell
You have the rest of your life to solve your problems. How long you live depends on how well you do it. — Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
You have the right to keep and bear arms, as long as you get a permit first. You have a right to free speech, as long as you get a permit first. You have a right to free religion, as long as you get a permit first? The Bill of Rights, void where prohibited by law. The Bill of Rights does not give us any rights, it only states what are natural rights which the government shall not infringe, by demanding a permit he [a certain politician] is violating his oath under the US Constitution. — Kemasa, Jul 2004
You know I don't believe in people owning guns, only the police and military. And I'm going to do everything I can to disarm this state. — Michael Dukakis, former Governor of Massachusetts and nominee for President
You may find me one day dead in a ditch somewhere. But by God, you'll find me in a pile of brass. — Trooper M. Padgett
You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go around repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in their struggle for independence. — Charles A. Beard
You want an assault rifle? Join the Army! — Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
Zero tolerance [for guns], all kinds of workplace regulations, campus regulations, gun bans, all of these are based on a phony premise that the innocent people contribute to violence and will eventually become criminals. — John Longenecker, 15 Dec 2007
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