"Once the American Revolution was won, the Swiss experience would figure prominently in the political debates that took place just before the Constitution was adopted. In his A Defense of the Constitutions (1787), a survey of ancient and modern republics and other political models, John Adams discussed the governance of the democratic Swiss cantons and noted two common institutions among them: the right to vote on laws and the right to bear arms. Thus in the canton of Bern, `every male of sixteen is enrolled in the militia, and obligated to provide himself a uniform, a musket, powder and ball; and no peasant is allowed to marry without producing his arms and uniform."

From Halbrook, Target Switzerland: Swiss Armed Neutrality in World War II, p. 11.
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#postamericanrevolution #swissexperience #constitutionaldebate #ADefenseoftheConstitutions #John Adams #1787 #republics #politicalmodels #swisscantons #righttobeararms #cantonofbern #armedcitizens #armedcitizenry #citizensarmy #swissmilitia #armedpopulace #swissarmy #armedswiss #armedpeople #swisshistory #Switzerlandhistory #helvetia #schweiz #swissmilitary #americanrepublic #targetswitzerland #swissordnance1780 #musket #powderandball #swissuniform ...

America`s founders correctly believed that "armed people may by natural law engage in self-defense against all criminals, whether public or private." -- Halbrook, That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right, p. 194.

The woman in this old advertisement is holding a Savage Model 1907 pistol. The c.1910 ad begins: "The burglar knows he`s far outmatched when he looks down the black muzzle of a Savage. The thought of its ten ready shots flashes over him." This ad includes an offer of a book -- "If You Hear a Burglar" -- for 6 cents in stamps. I`m sure that would be an interesting read.
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#savage1907 #savagemodel1907 #savagepistol #savageautomatic #savagearms #savagearmsco #10shotsquick #homedefense #defendyourself #armeddefense #ifyouhearaburglar #oldgunads #gunad #gunads #vintagegunads #vintagegunad #vintageads #2ndamendmentsupporter #righttobeararms #armedpeople #armedcitizen #keepandbeararms #selfdefense #thateverymanbearmed #2ahistory #naturalrights #righttoselfdefense #foundingfathers #foundingfatherswisdom ...

"[A]side from war, self-defense, and police work, firearms are actually used predominantly for recreation. It is a fact that `AR-15 based rifles have become the most popular competition rifles in America.` Indeed, semiautomatic rifles that use detachable magazines are commonly called `modern sporting rifles.` Most people are never actually forced to brandish or shoot a firearm in self-defense, but it is the use of firearms for sporting purposes—safely shooting at different distances at varied targets, whether informally or in competitions—that forms the basis for their efficient use in self-defense.

"A comprehensive national survey concerning persons who own AR-15s and other modern sporting rifles (MSRs), consisting of semiautomatic rifles with detachable magazines, was conducted by Sports Marketing Surveys and published by the National Shooting Sports Foundation in 2022. It found that, on a scale of 1 to 10, recreational target shooting (at 8.7) was the highest rated reason for owning a MSR, closely followed by home defense (at 8.3). Other reasons, in declining order, were collecting, varmint hunting, competition shooting, big game hunting, and professional use/job related."

From Halbrook, America`s Rifle: The Case for the AR-15, pgs. 148-49.
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#recreationalfirearms #recreationalguns #ar15s #ar15rifle #ar15rifles #competitionrifles #semiautos #semiautomaticrifle #semiautomatic #detachablemagazines #modernsportingrifle #msr #msrs #modernsportingrifle #modernsportingrifles #armedselfdefense #firearmssurvey #firearmssurvey #gunsurvey #recreationalshooting #targetshooting #recreationaltargetshooting #varmithunting #biggamehunting #competitionshooting #AmericasRifleTheCaseForTheAR15 #firearmshistory #2asupporter #pro2ndamendmentrights ...

"We live in an age in which courts have recognized--perhaps invented--rights that have no specific mention in the Constitution. Yet...some courts sweep the right to bear arms under the rug. As the Supreme Court has stated, there is `no principled basis on which to create a hierarchy of constitutional values,` and `the Second Amendment is not `a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules that the other Bill of Rights guarantees....`

"The Supreme Court has explained that, when determining the meaning of the Second Amendment, the relevant inquiry is `the public understanding in 1791 of the right codified by the Second Amendment.`..."

From Halbrook, The Right to Bear Arms: A Constitutional Right of the People or a Privilege of the Ruling Class?, p. 19 (hardback edition).
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#righttocarry #armedselfdefense #commonlawright #righttoselfdefense #keepandbeararms #therightofthepeople #2ahistory #righttocarry #lawfulcarry #gunrights #righttobeararms #armedcitizen #therighttobeararms #therighttobeararmshalbrook #gunrightsmatter #keepandcarry #shallnotbeinfringed #armedselfdefense #carryagun #SCOTUS #2acases #gunssavelives #secondclassright #constitutionalvalues #billofrights #billofrightsguarantees #1791 #readtheconstitution ...

"Next to food, the Irish peasant has come to regard fire-arms as the greatest blessing. A writer in the Prospective Review says: `I was recently in the shop of a London gunsmith, and asked him what was the chief market for certain small pistols He replied, that, shocking as it might seem, they were used by Irish gentlemen to protect their guns, while out shooting; for, without them, as soon as the guns were discharged, they were liable to be attacked by a man with a bludgeon, in order to wrest away the gun.` "

From "Crimes of the British in Ireland," The Nineteenth Century. A Quarterly Miscellany. Vol. II (1848), p. 123. (Available on GoogleBooks.)

Photo: Cumann na mBan members May Burke, Eithne Ní Chumhaill and Linda Kearns in Duckett’s Grove, Carlow, 1921. 🍀 The ladies have British .303 Enfield rifles.

#irishwomen #irishwomenandguns #womenandguns #womenshooting #CumannnamBan #irishvolunteers #irishhistory #britishinireland #gunprotection #londongunsmith #irishpeasant #smallpistol #smallpistols #outsideshooting #irishrepublicanarmy #smallpistols #pocketpistol #pocketpistols #righttokeepandbeararms #britishirish #stpatricksday2026 #irishgentlemen #protectyourguns #gunstories #1921 #britishcrimesinireland #19thcenturycrime #Enfieldrifles #enfieldrifle ...

"James Madison wrote to William Bradford an encouraging note [dated June 19, 1775] about Virginia`s sharpshooters: `The strength of this Colony will lie chiefly in the rifle-men of the Upland Counties, of whom we shall have great numbers. You would be astonished at the perfection this art is brought to. The most inexpert hands rec[k]on it an indifferent shot to miss the bigness of a man`s face at the distance of 100 Yards. I am far from being among the best & should not often miss it on a fair trial at that distance. If we come into an engagement, I make no doubt but the officers of the enemy will fall at the distance before they get within 150 or 200 Yards. Indeed I believe we have men that would very often hit such a mark 250 Yds. Our greatest apprehensions proceed from the scarcity of powder but a little will go a great way with such as use rifles.`

"The last remark of Madison reflected that the highly accurate rifles had a smaller bore and used less powder than the less accurate smooth-bore muskets of the day."

James Madison was the fourth U.S. President and is known as the "Father of the Constitution." He was born on this date in 1751.

From Halbrook, The Founders` Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms, pgs. 98-99.
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#jamesmadison #presidentmadison #uspresident #foundingfather #foundingfathers #williambradford #thefounderssecondamendment #foundingfathersofamerica #2ahistory #colonialamerica #colonialmarksman #marksmanrifle #americanpatriot #americanliberty #1751 #shallnotbeinfringed #2ndamendmentsupporter #righttobeararms #bornonthisday #bornonthisdate #armedpopulace #sharpshooters #americansharpshooters #virginiasharpshooters #targetpractice #riflemen #smoothbore #smallbore #muskets ...

[ENGLISH BELOW] Nesta data, em 1938, Hitler declarou o Anschluss da Áustria, e a Lei de Armas Hitler-Frick foi oficialmente publicada. "A nova Lei de Armas foi promulgada apenas 4 dias após a anexação (Anschluss) da Áustria, na qual um triunfante Hitler voltava à sua terra natal para ocupá-la. A repressão foi imediata. Victor Klemperer escreveu em seu diário:
`Por algum tempo, antes da ocupação da Áustria, ocorreram investigações cuidadosas (livros e periódicos) em nome da Gestapo sobre os indivíduos que, dentre os professores e escritores austríacos, haviam publicado trabalhos anti-fascistas. Essas pessoas foram presas imediatamente`.

"Os registros de donos de armas da polícia austríaca seria outra fonte óbvia para as investigações da Gestapo.

"Tal como foi adotada, a Lei de Armas de Hitler-Frick unia muitos elementos da lei de 1928 às inovações Nacional Socialistas. Requeria-se uma licença para fabricar, montar ou consertar armas de fogo e munição, e até mesmo para recarregar cartuchos. `A licença não deve ser concedida se o candidato, ou aqueles que busquem tornar-se gerentes de comércio ou gerentes técnicos de produção, ou mesmo qualquer um envolvido, for judeu`."

De Halbrook, Hitler e o Desarmamento, págs. 174-75.
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On this date in 1938, Hitler declared the Anschluss of Austria and the Hitler-Frick Weapons Law was officially published. "The new Weapons Law was enacted only four days after the Anschluss of Austria, in which a triumphant Hitler returned to his homeland to occupy it. The repression was immediate. Victor Klemperer wrote in his diary: `Some time before the occupation of Austria there were careful investigations (books and periodicals) on behalf of the Gestapo as to who among the Austrian professors and writers had published anti-Fascist work. These people were immediately arrested.` Austrian police records on firearms owners would have been another obvious source for the Gestapo investigation.

"As adopted, the Hitler-Frick Weapons Law combined many elements of the 1928 law with National Socialist innovations. A license was required to manufacture, assemble, or repair firearms and ammunition and even to reload [CONTINUED IN COMMENTS] ...

During their lunch break in March 1938, employees of the London bookseller W. H. Smith gathered on the rooftop of their office building--not for tea--but for marksmanship practice. These women were members of the company’s rifle club, training with .22 caliber small-bore rifles. In the tense years before World War II, civilian rifle clubs were common across Britain, encouraged as both sport and national preparedness.

This photo is a striking reminder that ordinary citizens in Britain--including women--were once widely encouraged to learn the discipline of responsible marksmanship.
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#1938 #shootingclub #civilianrifleclub #companyrifleclub #womensshootingclub #womensrifleclub #Londonrifleclub #marksmanship #marksmanshippractice #responsiblemarksmanship #shootingpractice #22rifle #22rifles #22cal #22caliber #22caliberrifle #smallborerifle #smallborerifleshooting #smallborerifletraining #citizenswitharms #girlsandguns #shootingisfun #shootingguns #ladyshooters #womenandguns #womenandshooting #righttobeararms #gunphoto #coololdphotos #whsmith ...