Quote of the day–Walter Williams

The Second Amendment gives us the right to bear arms in order to have a “well-regulated militia.”  People with little understanding interpret that as meaning the National Guard or some other government organization.  But here’s how George Mason, one of our unsung framers, responded to the question, “I ask, sir, what is a militia?”  Mason answered, “It is the whole people, except for a few public officials.”  James Madison said, “Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion…in private self-defense.”

George Washington said, “When firearms go, all else goes…we need them every hour.”  The framers of our Constitution knew well that an armed citizenry was the ultimate defense against government tyranny.  As for crime, Thomas Paine said, “The peaceable part of mankind will be overrun by the vile and abandoned while they neglect the means of self-defense…(but) arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe….Horid mischief would ensue were the good deprived of the use of them.”

-Walter Williams-
Periodical
Colorado Springs Gazette
4/24/94

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