Conceived it to be the privilege of every citizen, and one of his most essential rights, to bear arms, and to resist every attack upon his liberty or property, by whomsoever made.

The particular states, like private citizens, have a right to be armed, and to defend, by force of arms, their rights, when invaded.

Roger Sherman
Roger Sherman, during House consideration of a militia bill (1790)
Quoted in Debates in the House of Representatives: Third Session, December 1790 – March 1791. Ed. William C. diGiacomantonio et al. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1996,. 92-93.
Volume 14 of the Documentary History of the First Federal Congress of the United States of America, March 4, 1789-March 3, 1791.
[Via Proclaiming Liberty: What Patriots and Heroes Really Said About the Right to Keep and Bear Arms by Philip Mulivor.

Update: As pointed out in the comments by Sean the nature of the argument is interesting. The states have the right to be armed just as private citizens do. As, I think it was, Lysander Spooner pointed out a government has no power which was not granted it by the individuals who formed the government. It is therefore a logical impossibility for the state to grant private citizens rights or powers since the state cannot have any rights or powers which the private citizen did not already have.—Joe]

When people in Washington say they’re going to take away my guns, they better bring theirs if they’re going to take mine.

Dave Mustaine
May 8, 2012
MEGADETH’s DAVE MUSTAINE On Gun Control, Lineup Changes And Winning Awards
[The people in Washington have no problem sending people with gun to take our guns. Just ask Vicky Weaver and David Koresh… oh, yeah, you can’t ask them because they were murdered by the people Washington sent.—Joe]

As a violence policy advocate, the steps needed to end gun violence are clear.

The First step is to make people aware of the problem. The easiest way to do this is to take advantage of high profile incidents that involve guns and to use them to get media time for our cause. This bigger the incident, the better so be sure to highlight the carnage and the emotional aftermath. People will readily make decisions when their emotions are elevated that they would not have considered at other times. It’s important to ignore comparisons to incidents that involve other implements such as explosives or planes since these will distract from the ultimate goal. Treat all defensive uses of guns as suspect and doubt their credibility and viability. It might be helpful in these circumstances to confuse the lawful use of guns for protection with criminal use since the moral difference isn’t easily distinguishable to some people. When using statistics, remember to include all gun deaths including those that could be self-defense or suicide. As an example 15,000 people commit suicide with a gun each year. By labeling these deaths “gun violence”, readers will assume they passed because of a criminal act. Since this doubles the number of true gun violence victims from 15, 000 to 30,000 then the number is twice as high and therefore seems twice as tragic and should produce twice the emotional response.

Fusil Banniere
May 2, 2012
Comment to A Little Girl Named Annie, and a Man With a Gun
[I’m nearly certain this is satire because I don’t think I have ever seen an anti-gun person this rational and open about their methods. In any case it is nice to see it articulated so well.—Joe]