Do those sound like the words of men who were in it for their own benefit? Yes or no?
“A free people ought...to be armed”
―
George Washington
“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”
―
Thomas Jefferson
“The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.”
―
Thomas Jefferson
“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”
―
Thomas Jefferson,
“Disarm the people- that is the best and most effective
way to enslave them.”
―
James Madison
“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
―
James Madison,
“The constitution shall never be construed...to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.”
―
Alexander Hamilton
“[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”
―
James Madison
“Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence … from the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable … the very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil interference — they deserve a place of honor with all that's good.”
―
George Washington
“A militia, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves... and include all men capable of bearing arms.”
―
Richard Henry Lee