[There is no need to cite me as the source for any of these, it is merely a collection of good facts, links, quotes, statistics and historical information that I have come across and saved. This is the work of hundreds of people. Please use it freely everywhere, the more people who are exposed to freedom and liberty the better our chances of being able to keep it]

Constitutional civil rights are not subject to a majority vote

https://guncite.com/gc2ndmea.html

https://www.atf.gov/file/5646/download (93% crime guns illegal)

https://www.reddit.com/r/Conservative/comments/e1fabu/lets_talk_about_gun_violence

https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-in-the-us-2018-041019.pdf/view

https://crimeresearch.org/2017/04/number-murders-county-54-us-counties-2014-zero-murders-69-1-murder/

More than 50% of the firearm homicides in the US happen in 2% of the counties in the US. More than 50% of the counties in the US have a firearm homicide count of 0.00

Z

https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/09/criminals-looking-victimize-women-love-gun-control/#.XXZJgC5y6h4.twitter

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The odds of a child being killed in a school shooting is 1 in 614,000,000. The odds of winning the power ball are 1 in 292,201,338. The odds of being stuck by lightning are 1 in 700,000. Why are we discussing taking away a natural right from millions of people because of a statistically insignificant event? It's obviously tragic any time it occurs but there were more kids killed by drunk drivers in 2016 (the only year I can find an exact number which is 214) than total mass shooting deaths in the same year (123). Why aren't we talking about prohibition of that's a bigger problem?

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All the Judicial, Statutory, and Historic evidence from the 17th Century to Modern day supports the individual right to keep and bear arms unconnected to militia service.

Being a direct descendant of the English colonies American law is based off of the English model. Our earliest documents from the Mayflower compact to the Constitution itself share a lineage with the Magna Carta. Even the American Bill of Rights being modeled after the English Bill of Rights.

The individual right, unconnected to milita service, pre-exists the United States and the Constitution. This right is firmly based in English law.

[In 1689 The British Bill of Rights gave all protestants the right to keep and bear arms.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_Rights_1689)

["The English right was a right of individuals, not conditioned on militia service...The English right to arms emerged in 1689, and in the century thereafter courts, Blackstone, and other authorities recognized it. They recognized a personal, individual right." -

CATO Brief on DC v Heller]( http://www.abanet.org/publiced/preview/briefs/pdfs/07-08/07-290_RespondentAmCuCATOInstJMalcolm.pdf)

Prior to the debates on the US Constitution or its ratification multiple states built the individual right to keep and bear arms, unconnected to militia service, in their own state constitutions.

["That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the State" - chapter 1, Section XV, Constitution of Vermont - July 8, 1777.](http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/vt01.asp)

["That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the state" - A DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OR STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA, Section XIII, Constitution of Pennsylvania - September 28, 1776.](http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/pa08.asp)

Later the debates that would literally become the American Bill of Rights also include the right of the people to keep and bear arms.

["And that the said Constitution never be constructed to authorize Congress to infringe on the just liberty of the press, or the rights of the conscience; or prevent of people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms; or to raise standing armies, unless when necessary for the defense of the United States, or of some one or more of them; or to prevent the people from petitioning, in a peaceful and orderly manner, the federal legislature for a redress of grievances; or to subject the people to unreasonable searches and seizures of their persons, papers, or possessions." - Debates and proceedings in the Convention of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1788. Page 86-87.](https://archive.org/details/debatesandproce00peirgoog)

The American Bill of Rights itself was a compromise between the federalist and anti-federalist created for the express purpose of protecting individual rights.

["In the ratification debate, Anti-Federalists opposed to the Constitution, complained that the new system threatened liberties, and suggested that if the delegates had truly cared about protecting individual rights, they would have included provisions that accomplished that. With ratification in serious doubt, Federalists announced a willingness to take up the matter of a series of amendments, to be called the Bill of Rights, soon after ratification and the First Congress comes into session. The concession was undoubtedly necessary to secure the Constitution's hard-fought ratification. Thomas Jefferson, who did not attend the Constitutional Convention, in a December 1787 letter to Madison called the omission of a Bill of Rights a major mistake: "A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth."](http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/billofrightsintro.html)

In Madison's own words:

[“I think we should obtain the confidence of our fellow citizens, in proportion as we fortify the rights of the people against the encroachments of the government,” Madison said in his address to Congress in June 1789.](https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this-day-james-madison-introduces-the-bill-of-rights)

Madison's first draft of the second Amendment is even more clear.

["The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country; but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person."](https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llac&fileName=001/llac001.db&recNum=227)

Ironically it was changed because the founders feared someone would try to misconstrue a clause to deny the right of the people.

[*"Mr. Gerry -- This declaration of rights, I take it, is intended to secure the people against the maladministration of the Government; if we could suppose that, in all cases, the rights of the people would be attended to, the occasion for guards of this kind would be removed. Now, I am apprehensive that this clause would give an opportunity to the people in power to destroy the Constitution itself. They can declare who are those religiously scrupulous and prevent them from bearing arms."* - House of Representatives, Amendments to the Constitution 17, Aug. 1789](http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/amendIIs6.html)

Please note Mr. Gerry clearly refers to this as the right of the people.

This is also why we have the 9th Amendment.

["The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."](https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/United_States_of_America_1992)

Article I Section 8 had already established and addressed the militia and the military making the incorrect collective militia misinterpretation redundant.

Supreme Court cases like US v. Cruikshank, Presser v. Illinois, DC v. Heller, and even the Dredd Scott decision specifically call out the individual right to keep and bear arms unconnected to militia service.

______

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”

Bill of Rights, Amendment 2

“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."

According to the SCOTUS:

"The Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm, unconnected with service in a militia, for traditionally lawful purposes" (District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570)

The Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding, and that this Second Amendment right is fully applicable to the States. (Caetano v. Massachusetts, 577 U.S. 2016)

The Second Amendment was incorporated against state and local governments, through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. (McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742)

"An unconstitutional act is not a law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; it affords no protection; it creates no office; it is in legal contemplation as inoperative as though it had never been passed." (Norton v. Shelby County, 118 U.S. 425)

"Congress does not have the power to pass laws that override the Constitution." (Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137)

It is unconstitutional to require a precondition on the exercising of a right. (Guinn v US 1915, Lane v Wilson 1939)

It is unconstitutional to require a license (government permission) to exercise a right. (Murdock v PA 1943, Lowell v City of Griffin 1939, Freedman v MD 1965, Near v MN 1931, Miranda v AZ 1966)

“If the State converts a right into a privilege, the citizen can ignore the license and fee and engage in the right with impunity.” (Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham, Alabama, 373 U.S. 262)

It is unconstitutional to delay the exercising of a right. (Org. for a Better Austin v Keefe 1971)

It is unconstitutional to charge a fee for the exercising of a right. (Harper v Virginia Board of Elections 1966)

It is unconstitutional to register (record in a government database) the exercising of a right. (Thomas v Collins 1945, Lamont v Postmaster General 1965, Haynes v US 1968)

_______

They only right that ever has been accused of requiring a "need" is the 2nd. It is subjected to unconstitutional restrictions that have been struck down as unconstitutional when applied to other rights-

According to the US Supreme Court it is unconstitutional to :

Require a precondition on the exercising of a right. (Guinn v US 1915, Lane v Wilson 1939); (ATF FORM 4473, CCW, licenses, "Cooling-off"/'waiting' period)

Require a license (government permission) to exercise a right. (Murdock v PA 1943, Lowell v City of Griffin 1939, Freedman v MD 1965, Near v MN 1931, Miranda v AZ 1966); (CCW, licenses, Title 1 arms)

Delay the exercising of a right. (Org. for a Better Austin v Keefe 1971); (ATF FORM 4473, CCW, licenses, "Cooling-off"/'waiting' period)

Charge a fee for the exercising of a right. (Harper v Virginia Board of Elections 1966); (CCW, licenses, NFA)

Register (record in a government database) the exercising of a right. (Thomas v Collins 1945, Lamont v Postmaster General 1965, Haynes v US 1968); (ATF FORM 4473, CCW, licenses, NFA)

. . . and yet we see all these applied to gun ownership....

There’s a huge disparity in the words constituting the 2nd Amendment versus how it is applied in practice (especially depending on the state you live in). How many restrictions and qualifications can you place on a right until it is no longer truly a right?

It's more than just that.

[Castle Rock v Gonzalez](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_of_Castle_Rock_v._Gonzales)

[DeShaney v Winnebago County](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeShaney_v._Winnebago_County)

[Lozito v. New York City](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maksim_Gelman_stabbing_spree)

[And most recently in the Parkland shooting.](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/12/19/parkland-shooting-judge-school-cops-no-duty-protect-kids/2360683002/)

[To *"protect and serve"* is just a slogan that came from a PR campaign.](http://www.lapdonline.org/history_of_the_lapd/content_basic_view/1128)

[Also the national police response time on average is 18 minutes according to the National Sheriff's Association.](https://www.sheriffs.org/content/embracing-technology-decrease-law-enforcement-response-time)

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Any perceived uptick in just the few recent years—which is not (yet) a trend—can be laid directly at the feet of Mass Media-driven hysteria:

[The Effect of Media Coverage on Mass Shootings - IZA Institute of Labor Economics (PDF, 22pgs)](http://ftp.iza.org/dp11900.pdf)

['Media Contagion' Is Factor in Mass Shootings, Study Says - American Psychological Association](https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2016/08/media-contagion.aspx)

[Contagion in Mass Killings and School Shootings - NCBI, NLM, NIH](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4489652)

[The Media Engine of Chaos – BJ Campbell](https://medium.com/handwaving-freakoutery/the-media-engine-of-chaos-c3874d4bac10)

[How the American Media Fuels A Cycle of Violence - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3VQULyT390)

[A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 2013 — FBI](https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-study-2000-2013-1.pdf/view)

[Active Shooter Incidents in the United States in 2014 and 2015 — FBI](https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/activeshooterincidentsus_2014-2015.pdf/view)

[Active Shooter Incidents in the United States in 2016 and 2017 — FBI](https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-us-2016-2017.pdf/view)

[Active Shooter Incidents in the United States in 2018 — FBI](https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-in-the-us-2018-041019.pdf/view)

---

[Mass Murder with Firearms: Incidents and Victims, 1999-2013 - Congressional Research Service, July 30, 2015](https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44126.pdf)

With data provided by [criminologist Grant Duwe,](https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/04/mass-shootings-more-deadly-frequent-research-215678) the CRS compiled a 44-year (1970-2013) dataset of firearms-related mass murders that could arguably be characterized as “mass public shootings.” These data show that there were on average:

* one (1.1) incident **per year** during the 1970s (5.5 victims murdered, 2.0 wounded per incident),

* nearly three (2.7) incidents **per year** during the 1980s (6.1 victims murdered, 5.3 wounded per incident),

* four (4.0) incidents **per year** during the 1990s (5.6 victims murdered, 5.5 wounded per incident),

* four (4.1) incidents **per year** during the 2000s (6.4 victims murdered, 4.0 wounded per incident), and

* four (4.5) incidents **per year** from 2010 through 2013 (7.4 mevictims murdered, 6.3 wounded per incident).

[You're Being Lied To About Mass Shootings - And It's Worse Than You Think](http://www.rallyforourrights.com/mass-shootings-lies/)

[Mass killings happen randomly, yet rate has remained steady, study finds | Illinois.edu](https://news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/568301)

[There's No Correlation Between Gun Ownership, Mass Shootings, and Murder Rates | Mises Wire](https://mises.org/wire/theres-no-correlation-between-gun-ownership-mass-shootings-and-murder-rates)

[Gun Laws Have Basically No Impact on Mass Shooter Rate – BJ Campbell](https://medium.com/handwaving-freakoutery/gun-laws-have-basically-no-impact-on-mass-shooter-rate-3c079b709f5b)

---

And finally,

[The Gun Homicide Epidemic Isn’t – BJ Campbell](https://medium.com/handwaving-freakoutery/the-gun-homicide-epidemic-isnt-ac13b21ff3f9)

[The Gun Solution – BJ Campbell](https://medium.com/handwaving-freakoutery/the-gun-solution-f9339609b3b8)

https://www.ammoland.com/2019/08/update-firearms-fatalities-accident-rates-in-the-usa-94-reduction-1933-2017/#axzz5zkhjoeNU

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/police-mass-shooters-guns/

https://thecommonsenseshow.com/activism-agenda-21-conspiracy/democrats-are-gun-confiscation-party-genocide-always-follows-gun-confiscation

Murders by governments:

https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/MURDER.HTM

___________

Gun control cake https://m.imgur.com/gallery/TO8BGgw

Registration leads to confiscation game plan

https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2012/12/21/1172661/-How-to-Ban-Guns-A-step-by-step-long-term-process

https://medium.com/handwaving-freakoutery/geographic-evidence-that-gun-deaths-are-cultural-277cb90fa06d

United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174 (1939) - The Court stated in part:

In the absence of any evidence tending to show that possession or use of a "shotgun having a barrel of less than eighteen inches in length" at this time has some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia, we cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear such an instrument. Certainly it is not within judicial notice that this weapon is any part of the ordinary military equipment, or that its use could contribute to the common defense. Aymette v. State, 2 Humphreys (Tenn.) 154, 158. The signification attributed to the term Militia appears from the debates in the Convention, the history and legislation of Colonies and States, and the writings of approved commentators. These show plainly enough that the Militia comprised all males physically capable of acting in concert for the common defense. 'A body of citizens enrolled for military discipline.' And further, that ordinarily when called for service these men were expected to appear bearing arms supplied by themselves and of the kind in common use at the time.

Thankfully the bill of rights is simply an enumeration of rights, not the source of them. It also helps that the people who wrote the bill of rights also wrote a lot of other things that make their intention clear.

"If these laws are so common sense, why does the National Guard need to come in and enforce them" - some other guy

"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined..." - George Washington, First Annual Address, to both House of Congress, January 8, 1790

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776

"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, January 30, 1787

"What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance. Let them take arms." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, December 20, 1787

"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They 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, Commonplace Book (quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776

"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, August 19, 1785

"The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to to John Cartwright, 5 June 1824

"On every occasion [of Constitutional interpretation] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying [to force] what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, [instead let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, 12 June 1823

"I enclose you a list of the killed, wounded, and captives of the enemy from the commencement of hostilities at Lexington in April, 1775, until November, 1777, since which there has been no event of any consequence ... I think that upon the whole it has been about one half the number lost by them, in some instances more, but in others less. This difference is ascribed to our superiority in taking aim when we fire; every soldier in our army having been intimate with his gun from his infancy." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Giovanni Fabbroni, June 8, 1778

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

"To disarm the people...[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them." - George Mason, referencing advice given to the British Parliament by Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adooption of the Federal Constitution, June 14, 1788

"I ask who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers." - George Mason, Address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 4, 1788

"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in 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 band of regular troops." - Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, October 10, 1787

"Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of." - James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788

"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country." - James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789

"...the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone..." - James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." - William Pitt (the Younger), Speech in the House of Commons, November 18, 1783

“A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves…and include, according to the past and general usuage of the states, all men capable of bearing arms… "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them." - Richard Henry Lee, Federal Farmer No. 18, January 25, 1788

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.... The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun." - Patrick Henry, Speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 5, 1778

"This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty.... The right of self defense is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction." - St. George Tucker, Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1803

"The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms, like law, discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance ofpower is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. And while a single nation refuses to lay them down, it is proper that all should keep them up. Horrid mischief would ensue were one-half the world deprived of the use of them; for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become a prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves." - Thomas Paine, "Thoughts on Defensive War" in Pennsylvania Magazine, July 1775

"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samuel Adams, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788

"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them." - Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 1833

"What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty .... Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins." - Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, I Annals of Congress 750, August 17, 1789

"For it is a truth, which the experience of ages has attested, that the people are always most in danger when the means of injuring their rights are in the possession of those of whom they entertain the least suspicion." - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 25, December 21, 1787

"If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers, may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual state. In a single state, if the persons intrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair." - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28

https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1421&context=wmborj Tench Coxe was a close personal friend of Jefferson and highly regarded for his ability to convey the meaning of the Constitution and Bill of Rights to the common man. He was also adamant about our 2nd Amendment rights. SOme examples you may want to add to your list:

"They are rebels who arm against the constitution, not they who defend it by arms." June 27 1775

"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 American.... [T]he 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." (Tench Coxe, The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788.)

"Do you wish to preserve your rights? Arm yourselves. Do you desire to secure your dwellings? Arm yourselves. Do you wish your wives and daughters protected? Arm yourselves. Do you wish to be defended against assassins or the Bully Rocks of faction? Arm yourselves. Do you desire to assemble in security to consult for your own good or the good of your country? Arm yourselves. To arms, to arms, and you may then sit down contented, each man under his own vine and his own fig-tree and have no one to make him afraid….If you are desirous to counteract a design pregnant with misery and ruin, then arm yourselves; for in a firm, imposing and dignified attitude, will consist your own security and that of your families. To arms, then to arms."

"His own firearms are the second and better right hand of every freeman..."

) http://monsterhunternation.com/2012/12/20/an-opinion-on-gun-control/

2) http://monsterhunternation.com/2016/11/14/a-handy-guide-for-liberals-who-are-suddenly-interested-in-gun-ownership/

3) Innocents Betrayed: The true story of gun control (from the JPFO)

https://youtu.be/NN0vkSO9n8Y

4) Austrian survivor of Nazi regime kitty Werthmann speech on Nazis + gun registration / gun control.

https://youtu.be/Mr9777ugCiM

1. Family of Mexico Massacre Victims message to America: "Hold onto your guns"

https://youtu.be/aRRl6cOD3_Y

1. A Warning to Gun Owners of the world https://youtu.be/CC6aEx6xYFY

2. Is the USA next ? Gun control in Canada https://youtu.be/PKE0NI-Djxs

3. NRA: The untold story of gun confiscation after Katrina https://youtu.be/-taU9d26wT4

Read up on the start of the revolution in Virginia.

Before the news of Lexington and Concord reached here, the royal governor Lord Dunmore was fearful of an uprising from the colonists so he took the gunpowder out of the public cache in the middle of the night. In response, a militia formed and marched on Williamsburg (the colonial capital) and demanded the powder back.

Dunmore said he took it for fear of a slave uprising and eventually he threatened to burn the city down if the colonists didn’t relent. Finally, it was resolved that the crown would repay the public for the powder. This was in the spring. In December of that year, VA’s first battle took place which was the Battle of Great Bridge.

Virginia’s revolution also started because of infringements on the rights of freemen to have access to arms.

Unfortunately, as proud as I am of my fellow Virginians for doing what they’ve done in this debate, the focus is too often on the US’s attachment to guns and our rights under the 2A. We AS VIRGINIANS have a storied history (more than just the above) about being free through the individual ownership of weapons.

Due to unfettered migration from state-to-state, local and state history has been supplanted by national history. This uncaring attitude about the territory in which you were born and/or live is the reason VA is in the position it is in. Too many don’t care about this state more than its proximity to the metro.

___________

Why do Americans own guns? Simply put:

• Police have no legal duty to protect you.

• If they come to help the average police response time is 11 minutes, but can be up to 24 hours if at all.

• Guns are used defensively by law-abiding Americans everyday.

• Guns are used to protect people, pets, and livestock from dangerous fauna.

• Hunting is a cheap source of meat for low income families especially in rural communities.

• Sport and Hobby shooting is fun and a useful skill. There are also multiple Olympic shooting events.

• In the 20th Century the oppressive governments of many nations killed hundreds of millions of their own citizens.

Would you like to know more?

Now I have to preface this with the disclaimer that all the following information is specific for America. However many, if not all, of these reasons apply to nearly every nation on the planet.

For those unfamiliar with firearms it can be hard to conceive of legitimate uses for them, but in America firearms are used responsibly by law abiding citizens for legitimate purposes within the confines of the law. Thise reasons include, but are not limited to the following:

• Police Have no Legal Duty to Protect You

The job of law enforcement is to enforce laws, as they see fit. Multiple cases, up to the Supreme Court, have established that law enforcement has no duty to protect you.

Warren v DC

Castle Rock v Gonzalez

DeShaney v Winnebago County

And most recently in the Parkland shooting.

The whole to "protect and serve" is just a slogan that came from a PR campaign.

• If Police do Come When Called the Average Response Time is 11 to 18 Minutes but can be up to 24 Hours

While the average police response time in America is 11 minutes it can take as long as 1 to 24 hours if they respond at all.

According to the National Sheriff's Association this average response time is longer at 18 minuets.

And we've had recent events such as the national 911 outage Which can keep emergency services from even receiving your call for help.

• Gun are Used Defensively by American Citizens Everyday

Due to its nature figures on defensive gun use are hard to nail down. Typically when a firearm is used defensively no one is hurt and rarely is anyone killed. Often times simply showing you are armed is enough to end a crime in progress. Looking at the numbers even the Violence Policy Center, a gun control advocacy group, reports 177,330 instances of self defense against a violent crime with a firearm between 2014 and 2016. This translates to 56,110 violent crimes prevented annually on the low scale. This also doesn't include property crimes which include home burglaries which increase that number to over 300,000 defensive gun uses between 2014 to 2016 or over 100,000 annually.

This ranges upwards to 500k to 3 million according to the CDC Report Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearm-Related Violence.

Government agencies from the CDC, BJS, and FBI have found:

"Almost all national survey estimates indicate that defensive gun uses by victims are at least as common as offensive uses by criminals..." & " Studies that directly assessed the effect of actual defensive uses of guns, i.e., incidents in which a gun was “used” by the crime victim in the sense of attacking or threatening an offender, have found consistently lower injury rates among gun-using crime victims compared with victims who used other self-protective strategies...".

"A fifth of the victims defending themselves with a firearm suffered an injury, compared to almost half of those who defended themselves with weapons other than a firearm or who had no weapon."

According to the BJS from 2007-11 there were 235,700 violent crime victimizations where the victim used a firearm to defend themselves against their assailant.

The FBI Active Shooter Report for 2016 to 2017 specifically calls out multiple times an armed civilian stopped an Active Shooter.

Also while defensive gun use is common less than 0.4% of those uses result in a fatality.

• Guns are Used to Defend People, Pets, and Livestock Against Dangerous Fauna

In rural, and even urban communities, firearms are used to defend People, Pets, and Livestock from all manner of dangerous and invasive species ranging from feral dogs, coyotes, Bob cats, mountain lions, bears, and rabid animals.

According to the USDA over 200,000 cattle are lost to predators in America each year costing farmers and ranchers nearly 100 million dollars annually.

Feral Hogs have been identified by the USDA as: "a dangerous, destructive, invasive species". Their impact includes "$1.5 billion each year in damages and control costs... & ...threatening the health of people, wildlife, pets, and other domestic animals".

"Hunting continues to be the most effective, cost efficient and socially acceptable method of population control."

"Natural predators as well as hunters play a role in keep deer populations at or below carrying capacity of the land."

"The effective use of the legal hunting season is the best way to control deer populations."

The US Fish and Wildlife Service even employs full time hunters to control populations like those of feral Hogs.

• Hunting Provides a Cheap Source of Meat for Low Income Families Especially in Rural Communities.

Hunting is crucial for America's rural poor providing a renewable source of Meat for a low initial investment cost while providing a revenue source from wealthier hunters.

Alaska Even has a great example of modern subsistence hunting.

• Firearms are Used for Sporting and Hobby Purposes the World up to the Olympic Level.

Sport and Hobby shooting is fun and a useful skill found throughout the world. This includes multiple Olympic shooting events.

Shooting Events at the Summer Olympics.

• Death of Citizens at the hands of their own governments in the 20th Century

Oppressive regimes through out the world, including major European nations, were responsible for the deaths of over 200 million of their own citizens in the 20th Century alone.

Including major European and East Asian nations. An armed populous provides a significant layer of defense against oppressive regimes abusing their populous.