Palladium of Liberty
Palladium of Liberty
by Bill Lockwood
Associate Justice Joseph Story of Massachusetts, appointed to the Supreme Court by President James Madison, has been called the “Father of American Jurisprudence” since his contributions to the Court’s decisions were so influential and voluminous. In his Commentaries on the Constitution (1833), he wrote, “The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable a people to resist and triumph over them.”
A “palladium” is a safeguard or a principle upon which the safety of a people is dependent. One of my favorite Constitutional authorities is St. George Tucker, who studied law at the College of William and Mary under George Wythe, one of Thomas Jefferson’s tutors. He authored the first extended, systematic commentary on the Constitution of the United States.
Wrote Tucker: “This [gun rights] may be considered as the true palladium of liberty … the right of self defense is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction.”
Obama’s Study
There is absolutely no question that Obama, growing more emboldened daily because of a compliant Republican majority in Congress and a disengaged populace at home, is all about being a “ruler”—not a servant of the people—whose constant “study” is to destroy the freedom of Americans. This is the mantle he inherited from communist Saul Alinsky. His success in these efforts thus far shows that, as Tucker put it, America is on the “brink of destruction.”
First, the “Small Arms Treaty.” Set to begin on August 24th the UN will host closed-door meetings in Mexico City to remove firearms from American citizens via the “Small Arms Treaty.” The National Association for Gun Rights has called this Treaty the “Gun-Grabbers’ Crown Jewel.” Registration and confiscation on a world-wide-scale.
This is why less than 24 hours after tyrant Obama was re-elected he proclaimed his desire to pursue the U.N.’s gun ban. Over 125 nations, including the United States, have already signed on to the Treaty and 67 nations have ratified it requiring legal compliance with the U.N.’s demands.
“But by far the worst of its provisions [Small Arms Treaty] encourage nations that accept the terms of the U.N. ‘Small Arms Treaty’ and provide the details of ‘end users’ of firearms. This is nothing more than gun registration—ensuring INTERNATIONAL bureaucrats have all the information they need to create a global database of gun owners at their fingertips.”
Second, Obama’s Proposed Gun Ban on Social Security Recipients. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Obama Administration is seeking tighter controls over firearms purchases and is pushing “to ban Social Security beneficiaries from owning guns if they lack the mental capacity to manage their own affairs, a move that could affect millions whose monthly disability payments are handled by others.”
Government cares for you? Government defines your rights for you. As one writer put it, this amounts to the rule that “anyone who can’t balance a checkbook could have their rights rescinded.”
As conservatives have ALWAYS warned, this is the trouble that comes with unconstitutional government socialistic programs. People quickly forget that their natural right to self-preservation, including use of firearm force, does not “come from government” but from God. Nor do any other natural rights such as freedom of association or property ownership. Therefore, government has no lawful ability to “rescind” this right. It amounts to another Obama-planned “usurpation and arbitrary grasp of power.” “Tyranny” is how the founders labeled it. Are we on the brink of destruction?