John Adams Quotes

The right to defend one's home and one's person when attacked has been guaranteed through the ages by common law.

Libertarians and most conservatives boldly and nobly take a stand for our right to keep and bear arms. Not so we can go duck hunting, but so we can defend ourselves and our families from invasion. And so we can, if necessary, defend our liberty from the possibility of a tyrannical state.

No kingdom can be secured otherwise than by arming the people. The possession of arms is the distinction between a freeman and a slave.”

The purpose of the right to bear arms is twofold; to allow individuals to protect themselves and their families, and to ensure a body of armed citizenry from which a militia could be drawn, whether that militia's role was to protect the nation, or to protect the people from a tyrannical government.

Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Is it feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man gainst his own bosom. Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an Americans.

… people who are armed make comparatively unattractive victims. A criminal might not know if any one civilian is armed, but if it becomes known that a large number of civilians do carry weapons, criminals will become warier.

Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American... The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.

The Second Amendment is the right to keep and bear arms for our citizenry. This is not for someone who's in the military. This not for law enforcement. This is for us. And in fact when you read that Constitution and the founding fathers, they intended this to stop tyranny. This [gun control] is for us when our government becomes tyrannical...

We should be able to defend ourselves by ourselves.

The majority falls prey to the delusion—popular in some circles—that ordinary people are too careless and stupid to own guns, and we would be far better off leaving all weapons in the hands of professionals on the government payroll. But the simple truth—born of experience—is that tyranny thrives best where government need not fear the wrath of an armed people.

I believe in the right to defend yourself.

This isn't about deer hunting. The Second Amendment is about our right to keep and bear arms to defend ourselves.

We have this tradition of the Second Amendment and people's rights to self-defense and a certain suspicion that the government can't be trusted.

In truth, we are the only developed country on earth with a constitution that recognizes the God-given right to keep and bear arms, and the human right of individual armed defense of self, family, home and country.

Our Founding Fathers knew that without Second Amendment freedom, all of our freedoms could be in jeopardy.

When you have law-abiding citizens who are actively ready to protect themselves and their family, that reduces crime.

Defense is something I take a lot of pride in.

The need for self-defense naturally exists outside and inside the home, I would hold the 2nd Amendment applies outside the home.

Our nation was built and civilized by men and women who used guns in self-defense and in pursuit of peace. One wonders indeed, if the rising crime rate, isn't due as much as anything to the criminal's instinctive knowledge that the average victim no longer has means of self-protection.

I carry a weapon. I got a death threat a few years ago and was really scared. But I don't want bodyguards. I am my own security.

I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and believe that law-abiding Americans have the right to self-defense.

The Second Amendment is the right to keep and bear arms for our citizenryThis is for usThis is for us when our government becomes tyrannical

Obviously, guns are a way to protect yourself.

I ask the question all the time of people that are on the anti-gun side. And I say, OK, if you're in a situation like the tragedy and the murderous rage in San Bernardino and you're in a room like that, would you want somebody that knew how to use a firearm and had one with them, or if somebody breaks into your house, what are you going to do if they are armed and you are not? And there's not a good answer. There's no good answer except you're a sitting duck for the most part if you're not armed.

Under no pretext should arms and ammunition be surrendered; any attempt to disarm the workers must be frustrated, by force if necessary.