Some Very Important Quotes from the Past to the Present
"Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American peoples liberty teeth and keystone under independence...From the hour the pilgrims landed, to the present day, events, occurrences, and tendencies prove that to ensure peace, security, and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable...The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil interference-they deserve a place of honor with all that is good." - George Washington
"On every question of construction (of the constitution) let us carry ourselves back to the time when the constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit of the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." - Thomas Jefferson
"The constitution shall never be construed...to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."-Alexander Hamilton
"The whole of the Bill (of rights) is a declaration of the right of the people at large and considered as individuals....It establishes some rights of the individual as unalienable and which consequently, no majority has the right to deprive them of." Albert Gallatin of the New York Historical Society Oct. 7, 1789
"arms in the hands of citizens [may] be used at individual discretion...in private self-defense." - John Adams
"The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun." - Patrick Henry
"No free man shall ever be disbarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson
"The best that we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." - Alexander Hamilton
"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 strongest reason for the people to retain the right to bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." - Thomas Jefferson
"The constitution of most of the 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 and that they are entitled to freedom of person, freedom of religion, freedom of property, and freedom of the press." - Thomas Jefferson
"Last Monday a string of amendments were presented to the lower house; these altogether respect personal liberty..." Sen. William Greyson of Virginia in a letter to Patrick Henry
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of 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...." - Noah Webster
"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 in their right to keep and bear their private arms." - Tench Cox in Remarks on the First Part of the Amendments to the Federal Constitution"
"The right of the people to keep and bear arms has been recognized by the general government; but the best security of that right is... the military spirit, 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, Oct. 14, 1789
"This year will go down in history. For the first time a civilized nation has full gun registration. Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient and the world will follow our lead into the future!" - Adolph Hitler, 15 April 1935, in an address to the Reichstag. It appears that this quote is a fraud. Check The AFU and Urban Legend Archive Hitler Gun Control for more information.
There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. When there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.
- Ayn Rand
"This bill needs to pass. This is a huge problem, the police don't have a chance, and the people don't live in safety." - Clinton, lobbying for Crime Bill, 1994
"People sometimes need to sacrifice individual rights for public safety." - Clinton, lobbying for warrantless police search & seizures in public-housing, 1994
"No government really rooted in limited, parliamentary democracy should have the power to make its citizens fight and kill and die in a war they may oppose, a war which even possibly may be wrong, a war which, in any case, does not involve immediately the peace and freedom of the nation."Clinton in a letter to Colonel Eugene Holmes, 3 December 1969
"If the personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution inhibit the government's ability to govern the people, we should look to limit those guarantees." (Clinton, 8-12-1993)
"The purpose of government is to rein in the rights of the people." (Clinton on "MTV" 1993)
"I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky"(Clinton to the nation Jan 1998)
"We always talk about the NRA -- the NRA has been powerful not only because they have a lot of money, but because they can influence people who vote. And in that culture, people believe everybody should be personally responsible for their actions; if you just punish people who do wrong more harshly, fewer people will do wrong; and everybody tells me I've got a constitutional right to keep and bear arms, so don't fool with me; and every reasonable restriction is just the camel's nose in the tent, and pretty soon they'll come after my shotgun, and I'll miss the next duck hunting season."(Clinton Remarks on Gun Control Legislation 27 April 1999)
"Our main agenda is to have all guns banned. We must use whatever means possible. It doesn't matter if you have to distort the facts or even lie. Our task of creating a Socialist America can only succeed when those who would resist us have been totally disarmed."--Sarah Brady (In a letter to Senator Howard Metzenbaum, The National Educator, January 1994, page 3)
"If a lie is repeated often enough, the gullible public will eventually believe it." -- Paul Joseph Goebbels (Chief Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda for Adolph Hitler)
“The White House is like a subway--you have to put in coins to open the gates.” Johnny Chung in an interview with the LA Times, as quoted in World, Aug. 9/16, 1997, pg. 10.
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