The following was found in a old issue of SOF on the back page. I forget what the original name of the title was, but I thought it would make a great petition:
It is time to speak plainly for the good citizens and patriots of this nation who believe unbendingly in the Constitution of the united states of America.
Though foreign governments may disarm their subjects, we will not go down that road. We will not disarm and see our freedoms stripped away. The lessons of history are numerous, clear and bloody. A disarmed population becomes an enslaved population. A disarmed population is without power, reduced to a child-like obedience to the organs of a parental state. A disarmed population will lose those basic rights for which the citizens of America risked their lives and fortunes over 200 years ago.
WE WILL NOT DISARM! The right of self-protection is the most fundamental right of all. It is a right that must be exercised against the predators of the streets, against the predators hidden within agencies of law enforcement, and against the most dangerous predators of all—those to be found in government, whose insidious grasping for power is relentless and never-ending.
WE WILL NOT DISARM! Not in the face of robbers, rapists and murderers who prey upon our families and friends. Nor in the face of police and bureau agents who turn a blind eye to the Constitution, who would betray the birthright of our countrymen; nor in the face of politicians of the lowest order—those who pander to the ignorant, the weak, the fearful, the naïve; those who indebted to a virulent strain of the rich who insulate themselves from the dangers imposed upon other Americans and then preach disarmament.
We will not surrender our handguns. We will not surrender our hunting arms. And we will not surrender our firearms of military pattern or military utility.
Firearms of military utility, which serve well in times of social disturbances as tools of defense for the law-abiding, serve also in the quiet role of prevention, against both the criminal and tyrannical. An armed citizenry (the well-regulated militia of the Second Amendment) properly armed with military firearms is a powerful deterrent, on both the conscious and subconscious levels, to those inclined towards government usurpations. An armed citizenry stands as a constant reminder to those in power that, though they may violate our rights temporarily, they will not do so endlessly and without consequense. And should Americans be confronted with the necessity of throwing off the chains of an oppressive regime, firearms designed to answer the demands of warfare will provide the swiftest and most decisive means to this end.
Any law that prohibits or limits the citizen's possession of firearms of military utility provides an open window through which a corrupt government will crawl to steal the remainder of our firearms and our liberties. Any law that prohibits or limits a citizen’s possession of firearms of military utility, being directly contrary to the letter and spirit of the Second Amendment, is inimical to the Constitution, to the United States of America, and to its citizens.
We are now witnessing the perilous times foreseen by the architects of the Constitution. These are times when our government is demanding, in the guise of measures for the common good, the relinquishment of several rights guaranteed to Americans in the Constitution, foremost among which is the right to keep and bear arms for our own defense.
Legislators, justices and law officers must bear in mind that the foundation of their duties is to uphold the fundamental law of the land...the Constitution. They must bear in mind that the unconstitutional act of disarming one's fellow citizens will also disarm one's parents, spouse, brothers, sisters, children and grandchildren. We must bear in mind that there are good citizens who, taking heed of George Washington's belief that arms are the liberty teeth of the people, will not passively allow those teeth to be torn out. There are good citizens who, taking heed of Benjamin Franklin's admonition that those who would give up liberty for safety deserve neither liberty nor safety, will surrender not one of their rights.
Now, today, is a critical moment in our history. Will we Americans passively lie down before a government disdainful of its best citizens? Or will we again declare: WE are the government. Government functions at our behest, and it may not rescind our sacred rights?
Will we place our faith in public servants who behave like our masters? Or will we place our faith in the words and deeds of the daring, far-seeing men and women whose blood, sweat and tears brought forth this great nation?
Will we believe those who assure us that the police officer will shield us from the criminal? Or will we believe our eyes and ears, presented every day with news of our unarmed neighbors falling prey in their homes, on our streets, in our places of work and play?
Will we bow our heads to cowards and fools who will not learn and do not understand the lessons of human history? Or will we stand straight and assume the daily tasks and risks that liberty entails?
Will we be deceived by shameless liars who say in Orwellian fashion that disarmament equals safety, helplessness equals strength, patriotism equals criminality? Or will we mark the words of our forefathers, who wrote in plain english, “…the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”?
Let us make known: We will choose the latter in every case!
To the blind, the ignorant, the apathetic, to those who feel safe and sheltered, these may seem to be concerns of another age. They are not. They are as vital today as they have ever been throughout history. For times may change, but human nature does not. For these reasons we must make known: We will not passively take the path that leads to tyranny. We will not go down that road. WE WILL NOT DISARM!
It is time to speak plainly for the good citizens and patriots of this nation who believe unbendingly in the Constitution of the united states of America.
Though foreign governments may disarm their subjects, we will not go down that road. We will not disarm and see our freedoms stripped away. The lessons of history are numerous, clear and bloody. A disarmed population becomes an enslaved population. A disarmed population is without power, reduced to a child-like obedience to the organs of a parental state. A disarmed population will lose those basic rights for which the citizens of America risked their lives and fortunes over 200 years ago.
WE WILL NOT DISARM! The right of self-protection is the most fundamental right of all. It is a right that must be exercised against the predators of the streets, against the predators hidden within agencies of law enforcement, and against the most dangerous predators of all—those to be found in government, whose insidious grasping for power is relentless and never-ending.
WE WILL NOT DISARM! Not in the face of robbers, rapists and murderers who prey upon our families and friends. Nor in the face of police and bureau agents who turn a blind eye to the Constitution, who would betray the birthright of our countrymen; nor in the face of politicians of the lowest order—those who pander to the ignorant, the weak, the fearful, the naïve; those who indebted to a virulent strain of the rich who insulate themselves from the dangers imposed upon other Americans and then preach disarmament.
We will not surrender our handguns. We will not surrender our hunting arms. And we will not surrender our firearms of military pattern or military utility.
Firearms of military utility, which serve well in times of social disturbances as tools of defense for the law-abiding, serve also in the quiet role of prevention, against both the criminal and tyrannical. An armed citizenry (the well-regulated militia of the Second Amendment) properly armed with military firearms is a powerful deterrent, on both the conscious and subconscious levels, to those inclined towards government usurpations. An armed citizenry stands as a constant reminder to those in power that, though they may violate our rights temporarily, they will not do so endlessly and without consequense. And should Americans be confronted with the necessity of throwing off the chains of an oppressive regime, firearms designed to answer the demands of warfare will provide the swiftest and most decisive means to this end.
Any law that prohibits or limits the citizen's possession of firearms of military utility provides an open window through which a corrupt government will crawl to steal the remainder of our firearms and our liberties. Any law that prohibits or limits a citizen’s possession of firearms of military utility, being directly contrary to the letter and spirit of the Second Amendment, is inimical to the Constitution, to the United States of America, and to its citizens.
We are now witnessing the perilous times foreseen by the architects of the Constitution. These are times when our government is demanding, in the guise of measures for the common good, the relinquishment of several rights guaranteed to Americans in the Constitution, foremost among which is the right to keep and bear arms for our own defense.
Legislators, justices and law officers must bear in mind that the foundation of their duties is to uphold the fundamental law of the land...the Constitution. They must bear in mind that the unconstitutional act of disarming one's fellow citizens will also disarm one's parents, spouse, brothers, sisters, children and grandchildren. We must bear in mind that there are good citizens who, taking heed of George Washington's belief that arms are the liberty teeth of the people, will not passively allow those teeth to be torn out. There are good citizens who, taking heed of Benjamin Franklin's admonition that those who would give up liberty for safety deserve neither liberty nor safety, will surrender not one of their rights.
Now, today, is a critical moment in our history. Will we Americans passively lie down before a government disdainful of its best citizens? Or will we again declare: WE are the government. Government functions at our behest, and it may not rescind our sacred rights?
Will we place our faith in public servants who behave like our masters? Or will we place our faith in the words and deeds of the daring, far-seeing men and women whose blood, sweat and tears brought forth this great nation?
Will we believe those who assure us that the police officer will shield us from the criminal? Or will we believe our eyes and ears, presented every day with news of our unarmed neighbors falling prey in their homes, on our streets, in our places of work and play?
Will we bow our heads to cowards and fools who will not learn and do not understand the lessons of human history? Or will we stand straight and assume the daily tasks and risks that liberty entails?
Will we be deceived by shameless liars who say in Orwellian fashion that disarmament equals safety, helplessness equals strength, patriotism equals criminality? Or will we mark the words of our forefathers, who wrote in plain english, “…the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”?
Let us make known: We will choose the latter in every case!
To the blind, the ignorant, the apathetic, to those who feel safe and sheltered, these may seem to be concerns of another age. They are not. They are as vital today as they have ever been throughout history. For times may change, but human nature does not. For these reasons we must make known: We will not passively take the path that leads to tyranny. We will not go down that road. WE WILL NOT DISARM!
