"No freeman shall be debarred the use of arms [within his own lands]."
— Thomas Jefferson

January 1, 1970

Quote Details

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Presidents of the United StatesUnitarians from the United StatesFounding Fathers of the United States of AmericaUnited States Secretaries of StatePoliticians from Virginia
Original Language: English

Sources

Draft Constitution for Virginia (June 1776) This quote often appears with the parenthetical omitted and with the spurious extension, "The strongest reason for the people to retain their right to keep and bear arms is as a last resort to protect themselves against tyranny in government". (See "No freeman shall be debarred the use of arms" Quotation (Archived from the original on February 20, 2020) and Jefferson Encyclopedia "Strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arm