December 10, 2018
By Firearms News
When the average American, no matter which side of the fence he or she is on, thinks about Republicans, a few things tend to come to mind: pro-life, moral values, small government, less taxes, and the big one: firearms freedom. However, even conservative Republicans, who feel they are well-informed, don’t always have a clear picture about their party or their country. For instance, many conservative celebrities like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and even Tucker Carlson have told their audiences dozens of times that the United States is a democracy. This is absolutely not true, but Rush, Sean, and Tucker are not alone, thousands of newscasters, politicians, those in academia, political writers, and other conservative talk show hosts state the very same thing as fact. Democracy is mob rule, meaning that 51% of the people can vote away the freedoms of 49% of the people. In a Republic, certain rights are specified, recognized, and guaranteed – this means that government cannot take them away. But if you feel that your favorite Republican representative, talk show host, or history professor is correct, here are the people we are looking to for clarification, the Founding Fathers of our nation:
"Democracy, will soon degenerate into an anarchy, such an anarchy that every man will do what is right in his own eyes, and no man's life or property or reputation or liberty will be secure and every one of these will soon mold itself into a system of subordination of all the moral virtues, and intellectual abilities, all the powers of wealth, beauty, wit, and science, to the wanton pleasures, the capricious will, and the execrable cruelty of one or a very few." "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide." "A democracy is a volcano which conceals the fiery materials of its own destruction. These will produce an eruption and carry desolation in their way." "A simple democracy is the devil's own government." "It is one of the evils of democratical governments, that the people, not always seeing and frequently misled, must often feel before they can act right; but then evil of this nature seldom fail to work their own cure." Maxims of George Washington. )"We are now forming a Republican form of government. Real liberty is not found in the extremes of democracy, but in moderate governments. If we incline too much to democracy we shall soon shoot into a monarchy, or some other form of a dictatorship." <
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!” Although Ben Franklin has been credited with coming up with this statement, it has not been completely verified but it is a great analogy of what “democracy” really is. Ben Franklin was also very specific when asked about what kind of government was formed, right after he exited Independence Hall, after deliberations of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 ended. A Mrs. Powel asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin immediately responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.” With much of America today referring to the United States as a democracy, it looks like we may not be keeping it.
So, is a newscaster, politician, academic professor, political writer, conservative or liberal talk show host or even a modern-day Supreme Court justice more qualified to speak on what our government truly is than a Founding Father? Why would the Founders of this nation, who recognized democracies as failed government institutions, create one? The short answer is that they would not and they did not.
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We see that we can’t blindly trust anyone, even those who are “on our side” to tell us what is going on. What about the 2nd Amendment? The 2nd Amendment was put in place so that the individual would have the ability to defend his liberty and life against tyranny and genocide, if the government would ever come against its own people. Here are some quotes which history students, as well as talk show audiences, unfortunately don’t hear when the issue of the 2nd Amendment comes up:
“The Constitution shall never be construed… to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.” – Samuel Adams
“…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
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“To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them…”- Richard Henry Lee
“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
“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
“The people are not to be disarmed of their weapons. They are left in full possession of them.”- Zachariah Johnson
"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined..."
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
"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."
"The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."
"To disarm the people...[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them." The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adooption of the Federal Constitution , June 14, 1788
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country 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." An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution , October 10, 1787
"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." Federalist No. 46 , January 29, 1788
"...the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone..." Federalist No. 46 , January 29, 1788
"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." Federal Farmer No. 18 , January 25, 1788
"This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty.... The right of self defense 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." Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1803
"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."
"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 the 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." Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States , 1833
"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." I Annals of Congress 750 , August 17, 1789
"If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers, may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual state. In a single state, if the persons intrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair." Federalist No. 28
"[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. This appears to me the only substitute that can be devised for a standing army, and the best possible security against it, if it should exist." Federalist No. 28 , January 10, 1788
"As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people 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 article in their right to keep and bear their private arms." Philadelphia Federal Gazette , June 18, 1789
Another strong quote came from Patrick Henry:
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone 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 might have a gun."
Considering this statement, our liberty has been in greatly infringed upon since at least 1934 regarding the 2nd Amendment, and if you live in CA, NY, MA, or NJ, it is certainly gone. Understand, that if it weren’t for Patrick Henry there would be no Bill of Rights and our rights to own a firearm would have been done away with at least 100 years ago. He should be regarded as the one of the top three Founding Fathers yet most history majors in collage, as well as pre-law students, probably cannot even tell you who he was.
And regarding all of those infringements such as: banning “assault weapons” (making folding stocks, bayonet lugs, pistol grips, etc. illegal), banning “hi-capacity” magazines, or even the bans and restrictions on machine-guns, the Founders addressed these as well:
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
“The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They 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.” – Thomas Jefferson
"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery."
It is nonsensical to state that the 2nd Amendment is a guaranteed right for the people to defend themselves against tyranny but also state that machine-guns should be banned. The Founders did not recognize such a right to defend ourselves against tyranny and then put the people at such a great disadvantage to do so. If this were the case, the first Americans would have been given a privilege to own crossbows and catapults, instead of muskets and cannons which were the most advanced types of weapons during that time. The Founders intended that the people were to be armed with the same weapons as the government possessed. Again, even gun owners have been incorrectly convinced over the years that the 2nd Amendment is a right to only defend themselves against robbers, rapists, and other criminals. Defending the true meaning or the 2nd Amendment is something that most conservative leaders don’t have the backbone, or the knowledge, to do.
Although the left will state that the 2nd Amendment is outdated and was only applicable to the 1700s, the Founders of our nation were very perceptive, were history scholars, and they understood human nature very well. Did they understand that governments can murder their own people? Of course they did, and here is why they were correct about the future (just a handful of examples):
Armenian Genocide 1915-17 – over 1,000,000 murdered under the Turkish Ottoman government
Ukrainian Holodomor (1932-33) – between 7,000,000-10,000,000 murdered by Joseph Stalin and USSR communist government
Jewish Holocaust (1939-1945) – over 6,000,000 murdered under the NAZI government
Chinese Political Genocide (1958-69)– over 70,000,000 murdered by Mao Ze Dong/Communist Red China government
Cambodian Genocide (1975-79) – over 1,700,000 murdered by Pol Pot/Cambodia Communist Party
By the way, all of these governments, who murdered their own people, registered and banned, or outright banned, firearms first. Want the statistics to sink in? Know a liberal who hates the 2nd Amendment? Do an internet search for photos of these genocides and show your liberal friend what mass executions by governments look like. These horrific events occurred during many of our congressional representatives’ lifetimes, yet they still make statements that the 2nd Amendment is outdated??? What is their true motive to ban guns? Can you imagine if Congress were made up of 50% or 75% of ANTIFA-communist types? What would they do to freedom and what would they do to conservative, patriotic Americans? Remember what was stated earlier about “democracy,” if Americans continue to consider our government as a democracy, and operates as such, then freedoms of all types will be voted away by simple majorities - the up and coming majorities seem to be American socialists and American communists. Bottom line, the 2nd Amendment is not just some permit for sport shooting or defense against robbers and rapists, although that’s about all the NRA, talking heads, and politicians credit it for these days. It cannot be said enough: the 2nd Amendment was placed in our Bill of Rights as a protection against tyranny and genocide in order to preserve liberty and freedoms. Period.
The purpose of this article is direct readers to the pro-2nd Amendment articles we published in 2018, that discussed topics that many gun rights organizations and conservative celebrities would not touch. These groups and talking heads either ignored what was occurring, had a poor understanding of the 2nd Amendment, were closet anti-gunners to varying degrees, or put too much trust in Republicans they supported, which leads to the following revealing information. Do you still think that Republicans are the defenders of the 2nd Amendment? Take a look at a handful of Republican presidential leaders:
President Richard Nixon – “Tricky Dick” wanted a complete ban on all handguns if possible and supported firearms registration.
President Ronald Reagan – While governor of California, Reagan supported gun control including firearms registration. The conservative “legend” signed the ban on future machine-gun production ownership for civilians in 1986. Reagan later supported the 1994 domestic “assault weapons” and “hi-cap” magazine ban and urged all fellow Republicans in Congress, by sending them a personal letter, to pass the bans and the Brady Bill. Many Republicans followed Reagan’s marching orders, unfortunately.
President George H.W. Bush – In the mid to late 1980s, he supported a ban on very small handguns such as the North American Arms .22 rimfire revolvers and actually held one up at a Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) event stating that these should be banned because the anti-gun FOP called for the ban. During his 1988 campaign against Michael Dukakis, “H.W.” stated “No new gun laws!” to the cheers of millions of gun owners, only to use the power of the presidency to stop all imports of “assault weapons” in 1989, after the Purdey shooting. This was done within the first month of taking office, and Bush held the ban until Congress caught up with a law a couple of months later. The 1989 “assault weapons” import ban is still in effect today -- Bush banned more guns than any president up to that time, even more than leftist President Roosevelt banned with the unconstitutional 1934 National Firearms Act. Many gun owners have been sent to prison for violating this unconstitutional law and its regulations, namely what is known as “922(r).” But H.W. wasn’t done there. He supported the 1994 domestic “assault weapons” and “hi-cap” magazine ban, dropped his free lifetime NRA membership, and voted for rabid anti-gunner Hillary Clinton in the last election.
President George W. Bush – “Dubya” was relatively quiet about guns during his eight years in office. However, Bush II stated that when the “assault weapons” and “hi-capacity” magazine portion of the Brady law expires in 2004, that he would renew the bans if Congress sent a bill to his desk to sign. That didn’t happen, and we gun owners are thankful for that.
President Donald Trump – Before running for office, President Trump stated for many years, in person and in print, that the NRA has too much control in Washington, DC, and that he was in favor of “assault weapons” and “hi-cap” magazine bans. When he decided to run for office, he made a 180-degree turn on the 2nd Amendment, as without gun owners, he would have surely lost in a big way. Since being in office, many states have either carved chunks out of the 2nd Amendment or eviscerated it. If you live in CA, NY, NJ, VT, MA, MD, FL, WA, and a couple of others, you have had your 2nd Amendment rights trampled upon in the last two years and not a single word out of the Trump administration condemning your state’s unconstitutional actions. Zero. But President Trump did applaud the gun control that Republican Governor Rick Scott of Florida signed. Now, elected officials in the states of NV, IL, FL, and OR are getting organized to pass very strict gun control and bans. Earlier this year, we heard President Trump make statements like: "Half of you are so afraid of the NRA. There's nothing to be afraid of. ... And you know what, if they're not with you, we have to fight them every once in a while, that's OK. Sometimes we're going to have to be very tough and we're going to have to fight 'em." and “I like taking the guns early, like in this crazy man’s case that just took place in Florida ... to go to court would have taken a long time…” Did President Trump forget about whose side he’s on or about due process? Recently, Trump ordered the Justice Department to overrule ATF Technology Branch’s correct interpretation of the unconstitutional 1934 National Firearms Act, which concluded that bump stocks were not machine guns when attached to semi-auto rifles. This is an alarming move as, if allowed to become part of our legal process, it could jeopardize all firearms rights (other rights as well) with new interpretations of existing laws and essentially form another branch of government which was not elected. There are at least 700,000 bump stock-type devices in circulation (yes, that many), and the final announcement of their owners’ fate will be made soon by the Trump administration. Confiscation and mandatory destruction of a gun accessory seems to be on the horizon with penalties of imprisonment threatening many of the very people who supported President Trump. These same gun owners heard the following from Trump at the 2017 NRA convention: "The eight-year assault on your Second-amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end, I will never ever infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms." Pretty strong statement, but we have to wonder, who is advising president Trump on what is or is not a 2nd Amendment infringement? Will there be even more gun control from the Trump administration during the rest of his term in office? Only time will tell, but his many statements about working with the now-majority democrats are disturbing, as we all know that President Trump is the most famous deal maker on earth. Any “deal” made with democrats regarding the 2nd Amendment will be an unconstitutional loss of freedom, as anytime in past history when a “compromise” was made, the left got some of the gun control they wanted and we got less of the gun control the left wanted BUT we usually don’t get anything in return. That isn’t compromise, that is a loss no matter how much the RINOs in government tried to sugarcoat it. Rights should NEVER be compromised. President H.W. Bush didn’t get gun owner support after his 1989 gun bans and failed at securing a second term, as many gun owners supported H. Ross Perot and his supposed strong firearms freedom stance – if Trump wants to be reelected, he should be reminded of this. President Trump recently nominated William Barr to the position of attorney general. Barr was an attorney general under George H.W. Bush, and during that administration, spoke in favor of H.W.’s crime bill which included mandatory handgun waiting periods and other infringements. Barr also never spoke out against Bush’s 1989 import “assault weapons” ban and most likely backed a domestic version of the ban which pre-dated the Brady Bill’s ban that passed a year after he left the position. Now, Mr. Barr may have the highest law enforcement title in the land once again. The BATFE Technology Branch has also changed policy in the way firearm accessories become “ATF approved” and this new policy may adversely affect past decisions on such accessories as arm braces installed on pistols which could put owners of such accessories in legal jeopardy if the decision is retroactive. This is a policy issue which President Trump can “fix’ with one phone call but perhaps this policy change was put in place by the Trump Administration to more easily facilitate the ban on bump stocks – we shall know soon. President Trump declared that he will “Make the 2nd Amendment great again!” So far, this isn’t it. Actually, the opposite is happening.
The hopes of the Hearing Protection Act or National Reciprocity passing are long gone with Republicans wasting yet another majority advantage but this is nothing new as it happened many times in the past and in 1994 with the “Republican Revolution” which went nowhere during the Clinton administration. It never seems to be the right time to restore the 2nd Amendment with RINO congressional “leadership.” Those who put all of their hope into a couple of Supreme Court justices (both of which do not seem to be firearms owners) and a favorable 2nd Amendment case ruling have not chosen a good strategy to ensure gun rights. Remember, Justice Kavanagh likes to rule on existing precedent (existing law, current legal status, etc.), not necessarily on Founder’s intent. Let’s see what a Founding Father thinks about that:
"On every occasion [of Constitutional interpretation] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying [to force] what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, [instead let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
It seems that there is a huge conflict here between Judge Kavanaugh and Thomas Jefferson. According to some news sources, Kavanagh was pushed on the Trump administration by former President George W. Bush and his father, and we all know what the Bushes think about the 2nd Amendment.
We hope that this was an eye opener and hope that you get politically active and don’t solely depend on ANY politician or gun rights group to defend your rights. We have to face it, no matter what cheerleading Republican conservative celebrities say, we are losing our 2nd Amendment in America.
Here are some great articles, and we encourage you to pass them around to your friends, family, and to your state and federal representatives. The information in those articles is also great “ammo” to have when you debate a radio talk show host, politician, or even a family member over the holidays.
With Republicans Like These, Who Needs Democrats?
https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/with-republicans-like-these-who-needs-democrats/328794
The Danger of 'Red Flag Laws' https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/the-danger-of-red-flag-laws/327750
Trump's Pending Bumpstock Ban https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/trumps-pending-bumpstock-ban/325941
What the Appointment of Brett Kavanaugh Means for Gun Rights https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/what-the-appointment-of-brett-kavanaugh-means-for-gun-rights/77689
Maybe President Trump's View of 2nd Amendment Not What Gun Owners Thought? https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/president-trumps-view-of-2nd-amendment-not-what-gun-owners-thought/77752
Republicans and the Courts Are Destroying the Second Amendment in Ways Democrats Can't https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/republicans-and-the-courts-are-destroying-the-second-amendment-in-ways-democrats-cant/77700
A Treatise on School Shootings and the Second Amendment https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/a-treatise-on-school-shootings-and-the-second-amendment/77715
Trump, Sessions, Schumer, and Feinstein Team Up to Take Bump-Stock-Type Shooting Ban to Another Level — Use of Belt Loops and 'Fast Fingers' to become Illegal https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/trump-sessions-schumer-and-feinstein-team-up-to-take-bump-stock-type-shooting-ban-to-another-level-use-of-belt-loops-and-fast-fingers-to-become-illegal/77703
Recent Wave of State-Level Gun-Control Schemes — Was This a Punt from The White House or a Strategic Move? Part 1 https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/commentary-analysis-and-investigative-reporting-on-issues-concerning-gun-owners-part-1/77719
Recent Wave of State-Level Gun-Control Schemes -- Was This a Punt from The White House or a Strategic Move? Part 2 https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/recent-wave-of-state-level-gun-control-schemes-was-this-a-punt-from-the-white-house-or-a-strategic-move-part-2/77716
The False-flag Drive Toward Registration, Confiscation: What the heck is President Trump up to? https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/the-false-flag-drive-toward-registration-confiscation-what-the-heck-is-president-trump-up-to/77722
Bump Stocks and the Bill of Rights https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/bump-stocks-and-the-bill-of-rights/77766
