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.
Interpretation
Restricting weapons only disarms those unlikely to commit crimes, making victims more vulnerable.
This quote by Thomas Jefferson reflects the idea that laws prohibiting the carrying of firearms primarily disarm law-abiding citizens rather than criminals. It suggests that such regulations may unintentionally embolden perpetrators by creating an environment where potential victims are more defenseless, thereby ultimately increasing the likelihood of violent crime.
In practice
In a discussion about gun control policies during a community meeting, one might reference Jefferson's quote to illustrate concerns about victim vulnerability.
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
We must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
For what human ill does dawn not seem to be alternative?
A fully functional multiracial society cannot be achieved without a sense of history and open, honest dialogue.
All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.
No man is rich enough to buy back his past.
His (Christ's) appearance in our midst has made it undeniably clear that changing the human heart and changing human society are not separate tasks, but are as interconnected as the two beams of the cross.
There are no days in life so memorable as those which vibrate to some stroke of the imagination.
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