THE FIGHT TO PRESERVE THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
MUST BE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING BASIC FACTS:
arms is God-given. The Decla-
ration of Independence proclaims
as a "self-evident" truth: "Men ...
are endowed by their Creator with
certain inalienable rights." Many
of those rights, including the right
to keep and bear arms, were later
listed in the Bill of Rights to the
U.S. Constitution. God-given
rights, of course, should not be
qualified or interpreted out of ex-
istence by anyone, government
included.
not guarantee the right of an or-
ganized militia to be armed; it
guarantees the God-given right
of "the people" to keep and bear
arms. In 1788, the primary author
of the Bill or Rights, George Mason,
defined militia as "the whole people
except a few public officials." At-
tempts to interpret the Second
Amendment to refer to anything but
the right to each able-bodied citizen
are completely fraudulent.
"the disarming of the
bourgeoisie"
(middle class).
opposition ... refuses to
disarm, we shall disarm
it ourselves."
2. The right to keep and bear
arms supplies the basis for the
retention of all the other rights:
to speak, publish, practice reli-
gion, etc. Men who do not have
the ability to take up arms to de-
fend their rights will soon find they
have no rights. Privately owned
weapons are indeed the ultimate
authority. Having the right to
possess them protects the rights
to speak, publish, etc.
permits for all but Nazi
officials. The German
people were disarmed
and were unable to
oppose the Nazis.
5. Mandating a waiting period be-
fore a person may purchase
a handgun will not deter criminals
but will adversely affect the rights
of law-abiding citizens. Women
anxious to defend themselves in the
face of a killer on the loose —
such as the one who claimed sev-
eral victims at the University of
Florida in 1990 — should not be
forced to wait five days, or even
five hours, to purchase a weapon.
3. The main purpose of the Second
Amendment has always been to en-
able citizens to protect themselves
from governments. The Second
Amendment was not promulgated in
the interests of hunters, sportsmen, or
target shooters. It guarantees the right
of every citizen to be armed, not just
those who use their weapons for leisure purposes.
6. A government that fears weapons
in the hands of law-abiding citizens is
itself to be feared. Even registration of
weapons should be opposed. When
Hitler's army invaded Holland, where gun
registration had been mandated by Dutch
authorities, the Nazi forces simply gath-
ered up the registration lists and then
gathered up the guns.
Our urging to all Americans
remains firm: Stick to Your Guns!
The John Birch Society invites you to order an introductory packet for $5.00. Write or call toll free:
THE JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY
Dept. G · Appleton, Wisconsin 54913-8040 · 1-800-527-8721