Gun Rights Quotes
Samuel Colt, 1814–1862, was the inventor and manufacturer of the six gun which was available for about half a cowboy’s monthly wage ($17) and, in effect, put all men on an equal footing in individual conflicts.
Although written by a science fiction writer, this is one of the best quotations arguing for widespread gun ownership.
This quotation is often provided by historians studying the gun culture of America. Even conservatives like Ames did not see a gun or an armed citizenry as important to America’s survival or well being. Contrary to popular belief, even the State Militias’ whose rights to bear arms was written into the Second Amendment did not bother to do so. In 1803 only three state militias had rifle companies. Firearms of the time were expensive, difficult to maintain, and hard to use. Unless one needed them for defense, it was too much of a bother. Even in the aftermath of the War of 1812 only 30% of Massachusetts adult men owned guns; by 1839, the rate was below 10%. It was on the frontier where guns were popular and necessary. See {613080}.
She advocated armed self-defense for Blacks.
Thirty young black men and women carrying pistols, revolvers, and shotguns, appeared at the grand entrance of the California Capitol Building. The capital police stopped them and asked what they were going to do with their guns. Bobby Seal replied by asking the police officer what he was going to do with his gun. Seale and the Black Panthers then quoted the Second Amendment to the Constitution and insisted that they had a right to carry guns. Seale led his overtly armed followers inside while police and legislators looked on in horror. They were breaking no law. See the linked quote for Seale’s statement at Sacramento.
She lost by a wide margin. Her Democratic opponent was not for gun control and yet she campaigned heavily on it but it was no issue in Nevada at that time.
At that time, ideology was not a driving political force and individual politicians often were hard to classify. For example, Humphrey was at the far left—an ultra liberal. Yet he was a staunch advocate of the right to bear arms. 50 years later there were no liberals who did not want to restrict gun ownership, And at that time, many Republicans were advocates of gun control, an unheard of situation in the 21st century beginning.
