The maintenance of the right to bear arms is a most essential one to every free people and should not be whittled down by technical constructions.
Supreme Court of North Carolina
May 11, 1921
Stave v. Kerner, 181 N.C. 107 S.E. 222
[From Proclaiming Liberty: What Patriots and Heroes Really Said About the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Mulivor sent me a free copy which I am enjoying immensely. I will be stealing more quotes from it in the coming weeks.—Joe]
Yup, and 13 years later we had the NFA. I guess it was as much a prophecy as a warning.