"To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
"What is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials."
~George Mason, 1788
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." ~Thomas Jefferson, 1776
"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."~Noah Webster, 1787
"The said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." ~Samuel Adams, 1788
"The militia is our ultimate safety. We can have no security without it. The great object is that every man be armed."
~Patrick Henry
"Necessity is the plea of every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants, it is the creed of slaves."
~William Pitt, 1783
