"The Great Object Is that Every Man Be Armed"

By Bruce Stanfield @ Shutterstock.com

The above words were delivered by Patrick Henry in a speech before the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 5 June 1778.

Thomas Jefferson said, “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of guns.”

George Washington believed, “A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined.”

George Mason cautioned, ”(T)o disarm the people… [I]s the most effectual way to enslave them.”

Samuel Adams warned Americans that “the Constitution be never 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 …from keeping their arms: or to raise standing armies.“

Notice that in all the above advice (mandates) from our Founders, neither the type of firearm nor the word militia as it might relate to firearms is mentioned. What is clearly noted is that standing armies were not part of the constitutional framework.

As I discuss campus safety with many Americans, I find a great schism between the left and the right. Without blinking, the left points to guns as the target. The right aims at the gunners.

I believe there is no case to be made for the left’s gun side. Just as cars cannot be blamed for auto fatalities and forks cannot be targeted in making Americans fat, guns should not be the focus in campus killings. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among teens, but no reasoned person would ever blame the Registry of Motor Vehicles or AAA for these fatalities. How then can there be such backlash at the NRA for the Parkland tragedy?

At Richardcyoung.com, I have written on guns and family safety for nearly a decade. My initiation with guns began in 1956, at the age of 16, with a Winchester .22. Today it remains in reach of my desk.

I do not suggest that I can come anywhere close to the background or skills set of say Erik Prince, Billy Waugh, Gary Schroen or Gary Berntsen (read each of their books linked below), but I can help you get off on the right foot.

The federal government, lawyers in general, politicians of all stripes, or the media are unlikely to do you and your family well. I suggest you pay little or no attention to the group.

As an unwavering flag waver for States’ Rights and the theme of the original Articles of Confederation, I believe the matter of guns and safety should be handled at the state level with a concentration, as is the case in Switzerland, as local as possible.

To quickly get up to speed on family security, click to richardcyoung.com to my series on The Armed American Family and my long standing interest in The Survival Rifle manufactured in the U.S. by Henry Repeating Arms. Finally, one the best survival/gun knowledge web sites you can benefit from quickly is yoursurvivalguy.com.