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The man who proposed that the colonies declare independence, Richard Henry Lee, once said:
“To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms.”
Then why are there so many laws and regulations preventing people from carrying arms? As James Madison said as he was describing why it is so advantageous that the people are armed:
“Notwithstanding the military establishments in the several kingdoms of Europe, which are carried as far as the public resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”
In short, governments, especially tyrannical ones, are naturally afraid of an armed populace. In this battle of wills between the people who wish to be armed and governments who want to disarm them, who will win? Maybe a better question would be, what would America look like if the anti-gunners win the battle? The answer comes from Noah Webster:
“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 bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States.
A military force, at the command of Congress, can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power, and jealousy will instantly inspire the inclination, to resist the execution of a law which appears to them unjust and oppressive.”
Whether you exercise your right to keep and bear arms, or choose not to, the most predictive evidence of whether We the People will rule or a standing army will is simple. Are the people disarmed?
The Constitution Study with Paul Engel on America Out Loud Talk Radio can be heard weekdays at 4 pm ET. Listen on iHeart Radio, our world-class media player, or our free apps on Apple, Android, or Alexa. Listen to other episodes of The Constitution Study, available on podcast.
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