There is a specific reason we have a Second Amendment. it’s not only what you have been taught. The heavy handed treatment we received from the Brits sparked our revolution. They forced our hand by creating an intentional shortage of gunpowder. Almost all American colonists had guns. We were an agrarian society and depended on hunting to supply meat for our families tables. The British confiscated our gunpowder. When they control the source, they can regulate it strictly. Next, they passed a decree forbidding the import or export of not only powder but weapons too. There is no such thing as a successful unarmed army.
We Smuggled Guns And Powder
Blockade runners smuggled gunpowder in. Just like rum runners during prohibition or narco traffickers do today. These powder runners were indispensable to our revolution. If you’re into American history, you can read more with the link: The Indispensables: Marblehead’s Diverse Soldier-Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Across the Delaware.
General Gage Was A Thief!
Our big British adversary was General Thomas Gage. Gage raided and stole our gunpowder whenever and wherever he could find it. He had an extensive spy network working for him. Back then, a third of Americans were crown loyalists, and another third were not against the Brits. They only wanted to be left alone to raise their families and enjoy life. Kind of like today. Now, most people either don’t understand the threat our government is to our freedom. Others are indifferent to it. They just want to be left alone. The British Crown increased the harsh economic restrictions on us.
The British Closed Boston
Gage closed down Boston, causing unemployment and chaos. We started fighting back. In 1775 the Crown declared we were in a state of Rebellion, and directed General Gage to arrest the ring leaders and seize everybody’s guns. Without weaps, you can’t fight back. Gage actually conducted disarmament raids. At the time our team had a sizable armory in Concord. Gage sent six companies of infantrymen in an advance guard to Concord to secure a beachhead. It ended up in a messy fight. The British commander lost control of force discipline and ended up with the shot heard around the world (Look it up!)
We Did Not Quit
The British succeeded and reached Concord. There they destroyed all the weapons they could locate, both big and small. Our forces regrouped and started shooting from behind rocks and trees, killing and wounding the Brits mercilessly. The British were eventually saved by a column of reinforcements. We did not quit though. We kept harassing the reinforcements with small arms fire as the Brits pillaged and plundered their way back to Boston, where General Gage continued to hold the whole town hostage. He forbade travel. Gage used the Bostonians as shields. Next he implemented gun control and confiscation from the good people of Boston all their fire arms.
The First Step
Gun control has always been the first step in controlling any populace. Keep in mind the British were the legal and rightful law of the land in America then. Their rule became onerous and oppressive, we reached a breaking point. When they came for our guns, we fought back. We fought the largest and best standing army the world had ever seen at that time. They lost. We told them, ‘Come and take it!’ They couldn’t. The importance of a well armed populace leads to the difference between self governance and tyranny. This understanding has a long history dating back hundreds of years before the birth of Christ.
Sparta VS The Persians
Spartan leader Leonites’ monument in Greece, commemorates the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, where 300 Spartans held off over half a million Persians long enough for the rest of the Greeks to regroup and live to fight another day. What was the end result? They defeated the largest and best trained army in the world at that time.
There is an inscription on the flag of Texas, known as the Gonzales Flag. There, it refers to a cannon that was given to Texas from Mexico. When the Mexican government tried to reclaim the gift a couple years later, the Texans refused, telling Mexico if they wanted it, “come and take it.” A flag with a single star, a cannon, and the phrase “come and take it” flew above Fort Gonzales to solidify the claim.
Molan Labe Come And Take It!
Molan Labe is Greek for ‘come and take it’! Spelled with the Greek alphabet, it looks more like MOAAN AABE. It still means, ‘Come and take it’. Molon Labe still matters today. Since the 90s the phrase appears on everything from bottle openers to clothes. It has become a rallying call of patriotic American pride. These words hold ample meaning for any group that adopts them, from soldiers to patriots to athletes. It’s a living symbol of independence and freedom. It serves as a warning to opposing forces. Challenge our ways, our beliefs, and our determination to keep what is rightfully ours, and know that we will prevail with honor and virtue. Molon Labe!