Our Founders were intelligent, well-read and had studied history. They fought a long and hard battle for our unalienable (i.e., can't be taken away) rights. One of those is the right to keep and bear arms.

Thus, the first point to clear up regarding our Second Amendment is this: any and every gun law is unconstitutional. Period.

It says so right there: ...shall not be infringed...

Gun grabbers would have you believe that our 2A only protects simple, musket-like guns, because of the time period in which that vital amendment was written.

However, as they were wise, our Founders wrote and approved our U.S. Constitution not for the times but to stand the test of time.

As Alexander Hamilton said, “Constitutions should consist only of general provisions; the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent, and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of things.”

Now on to our Second Amendment, in the words of our Founders.

Second Amendment: 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.

Those with tyrannical agendas to eliminate or drastically reduce arms in the hands of Americans cry out that citizens are not the militia.

Really?

What is - who are - the militia?

Our 1st president George Washington wrote, "...the Citizens of America (with a few legal and official exceptions) from 18 to 50 Years of Age should be borne on the Militia Rolls, provided with uniform Arms, and so far accustomed to the use of them."

Tench Coxe, a delegate for Pennsylvania, wrote "The militia, who are in fact the effective part of the people at large, will render many troops quite unnecessary. They will form a powerful check upon the regular troops, and will generally be sufficient to over-awe them."

New York delegate to the Continental Congress Melancton Smith wrote, "A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves...and include all men capable of bearing arms..."

And, of course George Mason, Father of our Bill of Rights, said, “That the people have a Right to mass and to bear arms; that a well regulated militia composed of the Body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper natural and safe defense of a free state.”

Notice a pattern here, the Citizens of America, the people at large, the people themselves, the body of people.

They did not mince words. The militia equals We the People.

Even so, there is a key phrase gun grabbers ignore: ...the right of the people to keep and bear arms...

The. Right. Of. The. People.

It is a right of We the People.

James Madison, Father of our U.S. Constitution and 4th president had this to say: “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.”

Sons of Liberty Founder Samuel Adams proclaimed, “The Constitution shall never be construed... to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.”

Fisher Ames of Massachusetts said, "The rights of conscience, of bearing arms, of changing the government, are declared to be inherent in the people."

Hamilton had this to say, “The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed.”

Richard Henry Lee, author of the motion to call for Independence from Great Britain in June 1776, stated, “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…”

And according to our 2nd president, John Adams, "Here every private person is authorized to arm himself."

The primary purpose of our right to bear arms, as written, is for the security of a free state. Our Founders knew the dangers of an unarmed populace, unable to challenge a tyrannical or dictatorial rule.

Samuel Adams pointed out, “If ever the Time should come, when vain & aspiring Men shall possess the highest Seats in Government, our Country will stand in Need of its experienced Patriots to prevent its Ruin.”

Thomas Jefferson, principal author of our Declaration of Independence and 3rd president, laid it out as a question, "What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?"

And, to sum it up, we will hear from Patrick Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death Henry, who so eloquently said, “Are we at last brought to such an humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and under our 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?”

However, aside from security of a free state, there is also self-defense.

Jefferson summed it up best, “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.”

Our Founders knew they were setting up a government unlike any that had come before them.

And much of the success of America would come from both We the People and their elected representatives following that precious document as written, not as interpreted for other meanings or to fit or be molded to an agenda.

Remember those representatives take an Oath of Office that very specifically includes they ...support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic...

Anyone attempting to change our Constitution by Executive Order or by Legislation contrary to what our Constitution says is, in fact, an enemy of the state.

Please make sure that you and your family know our rights, especially the truth about our Second Amendment. Only then will We the People be able to protect our unalienable rights.

Learning the basics is easy. Pick up a copy (or stream) the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie. It is a great refresher or educational tool. Following the movie, check out the more in-depth study offered by Building Blocks for Liberty in their three-hour Constitution Boot Camp Streaming Home Edition or consider Constitutional attorney KrisAnne Hall's online Liberty First University. There are also many free resources available at U.S. Constitution.

Staying true to our Constitution, and especially our Bill of Rights, is the only path to safeguard freedom and liberty in America for ourselves and our posterity.

Know your rights. Defend your rights.

by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry

Our Founders fought against tyranny in a war that spanned eight years, ultimately freeing themselves, and their new country, from the oppressive rule they experienced under King George III of England.

They believed, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

They envisioned a nation with limited government, where people would be free from draconian rule, to live their lives without government interference.

Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of our Declaration of Independence and third president of these United States, stated, “The policy of American government is to leave its citizens free, neither restraining them nor aiding them in their pursuits.”

Despite this, over the decades that have come and gone, We the People have allowed government to expand to a size and scope our Founders would not approve, would not believe.

Witness the existence of free speech zones, places where American citizens are allowed to speak their mind, yet our First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, without reservation of location.

Benjamin Franklin, deemed The First American due to his early role in the fight for independence, proclaimed, "Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins."

How about any and all laws limiting an American's right to bear arms, or, possibly worse, Red Flag Laws?

James Madison, Father of our U.S. Constitution and fourth president, declared, “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.”

While Patrick Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death Henry, pointed out, quite accurately, "Where and when did freedom exist when the power of the sword and purse were given up from the people?"

And, it goes on.

Government now controls virtually every aspect of our lives.

Founder of the Sons of Liberty Samuel Adams stated, "The grand end of civil government, from the very nature of its institution, is for the support, protection, and defence of those very rights; the principal of which, as is before observed, are Life, Liberty, and Property."

Note those words, "...support, protection, and defence of those very rights..."

Not taking away. Not limiting.

Yet, government today limits or takes away our unalienable rights and then either licenses them back to us or we never see them again.

We must keep in mind what George Washington, our first president, said ... “The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”

Washington did not mince words. He and our other Founders knew what was at stake. He said, in the hands of the American people, not in the hands of politicians.

We the People.

Three powerful words that have stood as the guiding light for nearly 250 years.

Yet, there are those who now embrace big government, Socialism, or worse.

Perhaps Ronald Reagan, in his first inaugural address as governor of California, said it best: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

Only through educating all Americans about our history, about American Exceptionalism, about why America Is Great, from an early age, will we remain free.

As second president John Adams said, “Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom,” and, “Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.”

Know your rights. Protect your liberty.

You, your family and friends can start by watching the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie. It is a great refresher or educational tool about our freedom, our rights, our liberty. Following the movie, check out the more in-depth study offered by Building Blocks for Liberty in their three-hour Constitution Boot Camp Streaming Home Edition or consider Constitutional attorney KrisAnne Hall's online Liberty First University.

After all, you must first know your rights to then defend your rights.

by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry

There are those advocating, once again, that reparations be paid to Americans who are black because of slavery early on in our country's history.

To hear some speak about it you would almost believe that America had actually invented slavery.

Sorry, but those who believe reparations should be paid are either: 1) completely uninformed regarding world history and culture, or, 2) forwarding a very specific and hidden agenda. Or, both.

Of course, politicians forwarding this absurdity fall into category number two, though they may also be totally ignorant on the subject of the history of slavery.

Here are just a few salient facts.

Slavery and indentured or forced servitude had been an accepted and common practice throughout almost all of human culture for thousands of years prior to America even coming into existence.

Encyclopedia Britannica suggests that slavery most likely began at the time of the Neolithic Revolution, around 11,000 years ago, or 110 centuries.

That is about 105 centuries before Europeans ventured across the Atlantic Ocean to what would eventually come to be known as North America.

It is historically documented that slavery was a part of many African societies and their economic structure for centuries prior to colonists settling in the "new world." For instance, in West Africa's Mali, during the 14th century, the number of slaves a person owned reflected their social standing.

Another pertinent fact: virtually all races, not just blacks, have been subject to this barbaric practice.

There are countless examples of where slavery has existed around the world, including, but not limited to: Babylonia, Ancient China, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Iran, the Arab Islamic Caliphate and Sulanate, the Roman Empire, Africa, Arabia, Europe, India and North, Central and South America - i.e., North American Indian tribes, the Mayans, the Incans, the Aztecs, etc.

Black Slave - Indian Owner

An interesting note: prior to white Europeans arriving on what is now known as the North American continent, slavery and the slave trade were nearly universally practiced among the Native Indian tribes. That includes - as had also been done in other times and countries - using women and children to pay off, of all things, gambling debts.

The point is, at some point in time almost every country had slavery as part of their common, every day life.

And, yes, there are still countries today with slaves, not to mention international human and child trafficking (with many ending up as sex slaves).

Yet, one of the first countries that ended thousands of years of this practice must pay reparations?

Who are you kidding?

Perhaps this is a primary reason to erase or alter history. If no one knows what occurred in the past, anything can be said under the guise of being true. Where factual history is known, however, the lies are exposed for what they are, fiction.

Truth be told, not all black people in America were slaves. As well, there were a large number of Irish who, upon arriving in the Colonies, became indentured servants, following what had been practiced in all the British territories around the world.

Another truth is that there were black slave owners in the colonies, some of whom had both black and white people as slaves. An early one was Anthony Johnson, a successful tobacco farmer, who obtained his first indentured servant for life, a black man, by court order in 1654.

Did some of our Founders own slaves? Yes, but many of them also led the drive to abolish slavery.

The Slave Trade Act of 1794 was signed into law by President George Washington that limited American involvement in the international slave trade.

In 1806 President Thomas Jefferson called for the end of the slave trade in his 1806 State of the Union address. The 9th Congress of the United States made the importation of slaves illegal in 1807, becoming effective January 1, 1808.

Yes, there continued to be struggles. America is not perfect. Nor is any other country. When you consider that our Founders were dealing with 11,000 years of cultural history and practice, they did pretty well.

The final acts against slavery for America followed the Civil War, when the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments were passed between 1865-1870.

Thus, the barbarism of slavery that had spanned 110 centuries was ended in the United States once and for all.

It would seem, to someone who knows the gruesome and long history of slavery throughout the world, that if one were going after reparations, one would go to the place where it started, not try to force those who ended it to pay for something that was inherited from human culture and was a very common and accepted practice throughout time.

Our Declaration of Independence spelled it out: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Our U.S. Constitution protects those rights of all Citizens, no matter the race or gender.

In America, like no other country, the opportunity to succeed exists for anyone who wishes to work for it. The key, of course, is working for it.

Our rights as Americans are unequalled anywhere, at any time, on Earth. But that has been changing. And, We the People have allowed it.

We did not heed the words of our Founders concerning those we elect. Perhaps Sons of Liberty founder Samuel Adams said it best, If ever the Time should come, when vain & aspiring Men shall possess the highest Seats in Government, our Country will stand in Need of its experienced Patriots to prevent its Ruin.

We have, indeed, allowed too many vain and aspiring people in government who have, bit by bit, taken away some of our freedoms, straddled us with monumental debt, and more to be sure, while they became millionaires being a public servant.

The only real way to safeguard our freedoms, our liberty, our unalienable rights, is to know and understand our Supreme Law of the Land and how our country should be operating and then to make certain that it does operate in that manner.

Along with that, We the People must ensure our family members and friends are also armed with this same ammunition (information) - knowledge of our precious U.S. Constitution.

Learning the basics is easy. Pick up a copy (or stream) the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie. It is a great refresher or educational tool. Following the movie, check out the more in-depth study offered by Building Blocks for Liberty in their three-hour Constitution Boot Camp Streaming Home Edition or consider Constitutional attorney KrisAnne Hall's online Liberty First University. There are also many free resources available at U.S. Constitution. Perhaps you and the family would like a fun, week-long constitutional getaway. Check out Camp Constitution’s 2021 Family Camp in New Hampshire, Sunday, July 18 to Friday, July 23.

Know your rights. Defend your rights.

by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry

Our Founders fought against tyranny in a war that spanned eight years, ultimately freeing themselves, and their new country, from the oppressive rule they experienced under King George III of England.

They believed, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

They envisioned a nation with limited government, where people would be free from draconian rule, to live their lives without government interference.

Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of our Declaration of Independence and third president of these United States, stated, “The policy of American government is to leave its citizens free, neither restraining them nor aiding them in their pursuits.”

Despite this, over the decades that have come and gone, We the People have allowed government to expand to a size and scope our Founders would not approve, would not believe.

Witness the existence of free speech zones, places where American citizens are allowed to speak their mind, yet our First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, without reservation of location.

Benjamin Franklin, deemed The First American due to his early role in the fight for independence, proclaimed, "Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins."

How about any and all laws limiting an American's right to bear arms, or, possibly worse, Red Flag Laws?

James Madison, Father of our U.S. Constitution and fourth president, declared, “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.”

While Patrick Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death Henry, pointed out, quite accurately, "Where and when did freedom exist when the power of the sword and purse were given up from the people?"

And, it goes on.

Government now controls virtually every aspect of our lives.

Founder of the Sons of Liberty Samuel Adams stated, "The grand end of civil government, from the very nature of its institution, is for the support, protection, and defence of those very rights; the principal of which, as is before observed, are Life, Liberty, and Property."

Note those words, "...support, protection, and defence of those very rights..."

Not taking away. Not limiting.

Yet, government today limits or takes away our unalienable rights and then either licenses them back to us or we never see them again.

We must keep in mind what George Washington, our first president, said ... “The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”

Washington did not mince words. He and our other Founders knew what was at stake. He said, in the hands of the American people, not in the hands of politicians.

We the People.

Three powerful words that have stood as the guiding light for nearly 250 years.

Yet, there are those who now embrace big government, Socialism, or worse.

Perhaps Ronald Reagan, in his first inaugural address as governor of California, said it best: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

Only through educating all Americans about our history, about American Exceptionalism, about why America Is Great, from an early age, will we remain free.

As second president John Adams said, “Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom,” and, “Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.”

Know your rights. Protect your liberty.

You, your family and friends can start by watching the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie. It is a great refresher or educational tool about our freedom, our rights, our liberty. Following the movie, check out the more in-depth study offered by Building Blocks for Liberty in their three-hour Constitution Boot Camp Streaming Home Edition or consider Constitutional attorney KrisAnne Hall's online Liberty First University.

After all, you must first know your rights to then defend your rights.

by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry