The Importance of the Second Amendment Foundation
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) safeguards and promotes the fundamental civil rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure that the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, USA State Constitutions Providing for Armed Self-Defense ]
“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.” Amendment II, The US Constitution
The following 22-minute video, Reflections: Five Decades of SAF’s 2A Advocacy, celebrates SAF’s 50 years of defending the Second Amendment and fighting legal battles in the courts for gun owners’ civil rights.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Important Judicial Decisions Regarding Self-Defense Law ]
Or watch it here. Watch the entire video series here.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Worldviews and Emotional Assumptions in the Gun Civil Rights Debate ]
* Historical Quotes About the Second Amendment *
“The right of self-defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and to individuals.” James Monroe, Second annual message to Congress, November 16, 1818
“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, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States.” Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, 1787
“There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet an enemy.” George Washington
“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” Thomas Jefferson Proposed Virginia Constitution (1776), Jefferson Papers 344, (J. Boyd, ed. 1950).
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Brief Answers for People Who Are Against the 2nd Amendment ]
“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
“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, Spoken during floor debate over the Second Amendment, Annals of Congress, August 17, 1789
[ Read the SemperVerus article, The 5 Elements of Self-Defense Law ]
“A people who would stand fast in their liberty, should furnish themselves with weapons proper for their defence, and learn the use of them. It is indeed an hard case, that those who are happy in the blessings of providence, and disposed to live peaceably with all men, should be obliged to keep up the idea of blood and slaughter, and expend their time and treasure to acquire the arts and instruments of death. But this is a necessity which the depravity of human nature has laid upon every state. Nor was there ever a people that continued, for any considerable time, in the enjoyment of liberty, who were not in a capacity to defend themselves against invaders, unless they were too poor and inconsiderable to tempt an enemy.” Simeon Howard to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in Boston, June 7, 1773
“A militia, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves…and include all men capable of bearing arms.” Richard Henry Lee
“The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. 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… Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them.” Thomas Paine, The Writings of Thomas Paine, 1894
“The ultimate authority…resides in the people alone…The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation…forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition.” James Madison
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, The Federalist #46.
“Are we at last brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in our possession and under our own direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?” Patrick Henry
“The great object is, that every man be armed…Every one who is able may have a gun.” Patrick Henry, Speech of June 14, 1788
“A militia when properly formed is in fact the people themselves…and include all men capable of bearing arms…To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms…” Richard Henry Lee, Additional Letters From the Federal Farmer 53 (1788).
“I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people…to disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.” George Mason, During Virginia’s ratification convention, (1788).
“That the said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United states who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.” Samuel Adams, in Philadelphia Independent Gazetteer, August 20, 1789
“By calling attention to ‘a well regulated militia,’ ‘the security of the nation,’ and the right of each citizen ‘to keep and bear arms,’ our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy… The Second Amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic civilian-military relationships in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country. For that reason I believe the Second Amendment will always be important.” John F. Kennedy
“If gun laws in fact worked, the sponsors of this type of legislation should have no difficulty drawing upon long lists of examples of crime rates reduced by such legislation. That they cannot do so after a century and a half of trying…establishes the repeated, complete and inevitable failure of gun laws to control serious crime.” Senator Orrin Hatch
“Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars.” Unknown
[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of the SECOND AMENDMENT ]
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