A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE
by Bob Heinritz
Human Events
4313
Nov 6 2009
For the first 150-years of the existence of the U.S.A., the right
of citizens to carry arms was so fundamental it was not considered
worthy of debate. The Founders considered their right to keep and
bear arms the ultimate and most fundamental guarantee of life and
free-dom against crime, foreign invasion, and as a last resort,
a despotic government. No knowledgeable American–from the founding
of the United States through the mid-1950’s–would have questioned
that the Second Amendment to the Constitution meant exactly what
it says, "… the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall
not be infringed." This was not a right of a Militia. The "Militia"
was–and under current law still is–all able-bodied adults, who are
expected to keep their privately-owned arms similar to what is used
by the military at the time.
Nineteenth-century U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Joseph Story, called
the American right to bear arms "the palladium of the liberties of
the republic." Our Founders believed that in a free society good
citizens must always be prepared to defend themselves and their
country. Thomas Jefferson said, "The God who gave us life, gave us
freedom to defend life." Being armed was more than a right. It was
a moral obligation of citizenship. Twentieth-century history proves
the wisdom of this philosophy:
In 1911, Turkey established gun-control. From 1915 to 1917,
1.5-million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up
and exterminated.
In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun-control. From 1929 to 1953,
about 20-million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded
up and exterminated.
In 1938, Germany established gun-control. From 1939 to 1945, a total
of 13-million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves,
were rounded up and exterminated.
In 1935, China established gun-control. From 1948 to 1952, 20-million
political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up
and exterminated.
In 1956, Cambodia established gun-control. From 1975 to 1977,
1.5-million ‘educated’ people, unable to defend themselves, were
rounded up and exterminated.
In 1964, Guatemala established gun-control. From 1964 to 1981, over
100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves were rounded up
and exterminated.
In 1970, Uganda established gun-control. From 1971 to 1979 over
300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up
and exterminated.
Australia: In the 21st Century, gun owners in Australia were forced
to surrender 640,381 personal firearms –which were then destroyed
by their own government. This program cost Australian taxpayers more
than $500-million. Results the first year:
1. Australia-wide: Homicides up 3.2-percent.
2. Australia-wide: Assaults up 8.6-percent.
3. Australia-wide: Armed robberies up 44-percent – yes, 44-percent!
4. In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms went up
300-percent. One doesn’t have to be a rocket-scientist to understand
this. While the law-abiding citizens turned their guns in, the
criminals did not. The illegal-gun trade thrives!
5. Australian criminal-data over the previous 25 years showed a steady
decrease in armed robbery with firearms. This has drastically changed
upward, since criminals now are guaranteed their prey is unarmed.
6. There has also been a dramatic increase in home break-ins and
assaults on the elderly.
7. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety
has decreased, after such monumental efforts and expense were expended
in successfully ridding Australian society–but not the criminals–of
guns.
8. The Australian experience and the other historical facts leave
no reasonable doubt. So called "gun-control" is harmful to freedom
and public-safety.
Great Britain: At the beginning of the 20th Century, Great Britain
had few "gun-control" laws as we now know them. Although there were
different class-restrictions, guns were freely available to nearly
anyone. While the American militia originated from traditional British
rights, the British Crown was aware that the very existence of a
civilian-militia denied the monarchy a monopoly of force. Over the
decades, Britain used various threats of revolution, Irish-separatism,
and two world wars, as a pretext to enact ever-increasing restrictions
and controls of guns in private hands. Currently, legal acquisition of
a gun is nearly impossible for law-abiding British subjects. Despite
this, the British government and British police have been unable to
show these restrictions have reduced crime. Today, there are far more
illegal guns in Britain, and far more violent crime. "Hot burglaries"
— that is burglaries in which the criminal knows the home-owners
are home — are eight times more likely in Britain than in the U.S..
Tourists and natives alike are five times more likely to be victims
of a violent crime in London than in New York.
United States: In all but two states of the U.S., law-abiding civilians
who apply, submit to a police-check, and demonstrate reasonable
firearms-proficiency and knowledge of the law, may receive a license
to carry a concealed firearm. Contrary to threats by gun-control
advocates, this has not resulted in "blood in the streets" or any
increase of crime or gun-violence. In all U.S. jurisdictions where
lawful concealed carry is possible, violence and violent crime
has decreased significantly. Multiple criminological studies have
demonstrated that in the U.S. each year over 2.5-million crimes are
stopped or deterred by armed American civilians; most with no one
being shot or harmed. On the other hand, in jurisdictions such as
Washington, D.C., or Chicago, Illinois, where handguns are banned
and long-guns must be disassembled and/or locked up, the homicide
rate skyrocketed to eight times the national average.
Worldwide: The concept that free people have the right to defend
themselves is as old as civilization. Under ancient Greek, Roman, and
Anglo-Saxon law, the ceremony of freeing a slave included placing a
weapon in his hands "as a symbol of his new rank." Aristotle wrote in
Politics 68 that "true citizenship included the right to possess arms,
and that armed tyrants disarmed the oppressed." So what results from
our "more advanced" thinking of the 20th Century? Conservatively,
in excess of 100-million defenseless unarmed-civilians were rounded
up and exterminated by various governments. (See data.)
You won’t see this data on the American evening news or hear
our President, governors or other politicians disseminating this
information. Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and
property. Guns in the hands of honest citizens preserve freedom and
dignity — from both criminal and government predators. And, yes,
gun-control laws affect only the law-abiding citizens. The gun-control
party is now in the majority in Congress. Take note before it’s too
late. The next time a politician talks in favor of gun-control, please
remind all who are listening of the lesson of history. All credible
scholarship indicates so-called "gun-control" laws never work, are
dangerous to the rights of the law-abiding, and are inconsistent with
the values on which the United States were founded. The Founders of
America had it right. With guns, we are "citizens." Without them,
we are "subjects." Please spread this civil-rights message — the
right to life — to all of your friends, and especially all your
government servants. You don’t work for them. They work for you.
This article is courtesy of the United States Concealed Carry
Association. To get your free copy of the Armed American newsletter
click here.
Bob Heinritz is an honors graduate in management, economics, law and a
member of the Bar of the states of Arizona, Illinois and Missouri. He
is a former trial lawyer, and now is a business attorney and management
consultant, specializing in strategic planning, productivity and
business turnarounds.