Category: Quote O’ The Day

Some have made the argument, bordering on the frivolous, that only those arms in existence in the 18th century are protected by the Second Amendment.
We do not interpret constitutional rights that way.
Just as the First Amendment protects modern forms of communications, e.g., Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U. S. 844, 849 (1997) , and the Fourth Amendment applies to modern forms of search, e.g., Kyllo v. United States, 533 U. S. 27, 35–36 (2001) , the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding.
–Justice Scalia; D.C v Heller, 2008

… ‘the people’ seems to have been a term of art employed in select parts of the Constitution. The Preamble declares that the Constitution is ordained, and established by ‘the people of the U.S.’ The Second Amendment protects the right of the people to keep and bear Arms ….
– Supreme Court of the U.S., U.S. v. Uerdugo-Uriquidez (1990).

Gun control laws don’t work. What is worse, they act perversely. While legitimate users of firearms encounter intense regulation, scrutiny and bureaucratic control, illicit markets easily adapt to whatever difficulties a free society throws in their way. Also, efforts to curtail the supply of firearms inflict collateral damage on freedom and privacy interests that have long been considered central to American public life.
— Daniel Polsby

Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem…. We’ve been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of government himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price. — Ronald Reagan

The congress of the United States possesses no power to regulate, or interfere with the domestic concerns, or police of any state: it belongs not to them to establish any rules respecting the rights of property; nor will the constitution permit any prohibition of arms to the people; or of peaceable assemblies by them, for any purposes whatsoever, and in any number, whenever they may see occasion. —St George Tucker

Liberty is not a means to a political end. It is itself the highest political end.
—John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -Declaration of Independence

Quote from a former head of the Secret Service, in response to Asst. Secy Ron Noble’s suggestion to combine BATF with Customs and Secret Service: “Mix dirty water with clean water, you get dirty water.”

Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms. The right of the citizens to bear arms is just one guarantee against arbitrary government, one more safeguard against the tyranny which now appears remote in America but which historically has proven to always be possible. — Sen. Hubert Humphrey, 1960

Americans who value freedom had better be more concerned about the gun control crowd than the criminals. The criminals want your money. The Neo-Totalitarians want your freedom. — Charlie Reese

Firearms have been around for over 400 years, yet it is only in the last 20 years that people have begun shouting “gun control”. Why then, only recently, has this become such an issue? Moreover, why are there more mass-murderers than at any other time in our known history? It is not because weapons are more powerful — 200-year-old muzzleloaders have a much greater force-per-round than today’s “assault rifles”. It is not because weapons are semi- or fully-automatic — rapid-fire weapons have been available for most of the last century. It is not due to a lack of laws — we have more “gun control” laws than ever. It IS, however, because we have chosen to focus on “gun control” instead of crime control or “thug control.” It IS because only recently has the public become complacent enough to accept, by inaction, the violence present in our society.
– Kevin Langston

25 States allow anyone to buy a gun, strap it on, and walk down the street with no permit of any kind: some say it’s crazy. However, 4 out of 5 US murders are committed in the other half of the country;  so who is crazy?
— Andrew Ford

Some people think that the Second Amendment is an outdated relic of an earlier time. Doubtless some also think that constitutional protections of other rights are outdated relics of earlier times.
We The People own those rights regardless, unless and until We The People repeal them.
For those who believe it to be outdated, the Second Amendment provides a good test of whether their allegiance is really to the Constitution of the United States, or only to their preferences in public policies and audiences.
The Constitution is law, not vague aspirations, and we are obligated to protect, defend, and apply it.
If the Second Amendment were truly an outdated relic, the Constitution provides a method for repeal. The Constitution does not furnish the federal courts with an eraser. –9th Circuit Court Judge Andrew Kleinfeld

Let us contemplate our forefathers, and posterity, and resolve to maintain the rights bequeathed to us from the former, for the sake of the latter. The necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, deliberation, fortitude, and perseverance. Let us remember that if we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom. It is a very serious consideration, that millions yet unborn may be the miserable sharers of the event.–Samuel Adams

We shall soon have another decision. SCOTUS better make it good one.

Despite two decisions, in 2008 and 2010, by the U.S. Supreme Court unequivocally affirming that the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms against infringement by the government, state legislatures continue to do just that – enact laws that significantly infringe this fundamental human right. –Bob Barr

Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential. I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it. —Elon Musk

I have seen an American general and his officers, without pay, and almost without clothes, living on roots and drinking water; and all for LIBERTY! What chance have we against such men! — British officer to Colonel Watson describing the American militia at Georgetown, SC