|
Rebecca
O'Dell
Townsend, Esq.
_________________________
Appellate
Attorney &
Constitutional
Liberties
Teacher &
Speaker
Rebecca's suitcase
is always packed
and ready to travel.
She
has been
a keynote
speaker, sharing the
rostrum with such
notables as
Newt
Gingrich and other
national figures.
Contact:
Freedom is Not for the
Timid
PO Box 76056,
St. Petersburg, FL
33734-6056
727.490.2911.
O rrebecca.odell
@verizon.net.
|
"The
right of self-defense is the first law of nature ...Wherever standing
armies are kept, and when the right of the people to keep and bear arms
is, under color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not
already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction." - Blackstone's
Commentaries of the Laws of England, 1768.
"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.
"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, quoting
Cesare Beccaria.
"The advantage of
being armed, which Americans possess over the people of almost every
other nation...forms a barrier against the enterprises of
[insurmountable] ambition ..."- James Madison, Federalist Papers No. 28.
"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,
appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by James Madison.
"The people are not to
be disarmed of their weapons. They are left in full possession of
them." - Zacharia Johnson, speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention,
1778.
"Whereas, to preserve
liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess
arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them...The
mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly
anti-republican principle...no wonder trued republicans are for
carefully guarding against it." - Anti-federalist Papers No. 18.
"The tree of liberty
must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and
tyrants...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, 1787.
"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."
- Patrick Henry.
"No freeman shall be
debarred the use of arms..." - Thomas Jefferson.
"The great object is
that every man be armed." - Patrick Henry.
"Arms
discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve
order in the world, as well as property...Horrid mischief would ensue
were the law abiding deprived of the use of them." - Thomas Paine.
"If the representatives of the people
betray their constituents, there is then no recourse left but in the
exertion of that original right of self-defense..." - Alexander
Hamilton.
"Are
we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation that we
cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?" - Patrick Henry.
"Any society that would give up a
little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and soon
lose both." - Benjamin Franklin.
"The greatest tyrannies are always
perpetrated in the name of the noblest causes." - Thomas Paine.
 Dear Patriots,
There
should be no doubt in anyone's mind that our founding fathers
considered the individual right to bear arms indispensable to
maintaining liberty. As they instructed us, tyrants and tyrannical
governments can only be kept in check by force or by the threat of
force. William Blackstone, whose ideas inspired our founding fathers
to establish this great nation, warned that if the People's (not
militia's) right to bear arms is prohibited under any pretext
whatsoever, liberty (if not already annihilated) is on the brink of
destruction.
In March, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia struck down that District's gun ownership restrictions as a
violation of the Second Amendment. The case has been appealed to the
Supreme Court. Should the Supreme Court accept the case, its ruling
will reportedly be the first substantial ruling on the Second Amendment
since 1939.
Americans should be especially vigilant against any government
intrusion into this essential inalienable right. Otherwise, there will
be no means to protect ourselves from a tyrannical government, from
foreign invaders, or from any who would seek to deprive us of our
lives, our liberties or our property. We would be helpless against all
three. And remember: the federal courts are a branch of the federal
government. They are as capable of inflicting tyranny as any other
branch.
If you want to know what you can do to preserve this particular
inalienable right, I
would suggest that you learn to use a weapon if you do not know how. I would also suggest that anyone and
everyone publish and distribute a pamphlet explaining our Second
Amendment right and its grave importance. Tyranny flourishes in
ignorance. If our government tries to limit this right, we will need
to rally in protest immediately - without delay or indecision.
Let's roll, Patriots!
index.html
|
