Henry St. George TuckerHenry St. George Tucker, (1780-1848) Virginia jurist, law professor, and U.S. Congressman (1815-1819)

Henry St. George Tucker Quote

“To secure their enjoyment, however, certain protections or barriers have been erected which serve to maintain inviolate the three primary rights of personal security, personal liberty, and private property. These may in America be said to be: 1. The bill of rights and written constitutions ...
2. The rights of bearing arms -- which with us is not limited and restrained by an arbitrary system of game laws as in England, but is particularly enjoyed by every citizen, and is among his most valuable privileges, since it furnishes the means of resisting as a freeman ought, the inroads of usurpation.
3. The right of applying to the courts of justice for the redress of injuries. ”

Henry St. George TuckerHenry St. George Tucker
~ Henry St. George Tucker

Commentaries on the Laws of Virginia p. 43 (1831)

Ratings and Comments


Mike, Norwalk

We hold this truth to be self evident. Said inalienable right may be called upon, sooner than latter, by resisting freemen, to stop, and or reverse the almost total usurpation that now infests this land.

J Carlton, Calgary

"restrained by an arbitrary system of game laws" ... such as in Canada where the right to self defense is murky at best.

Waffler, Smith

Well he was wrong, and I am sure Mike and J agree, on the usurpation thingy. Both Mike and J feel that the American people have been usurped time and time again. So guns certainly did not stop it. We are a nation of words, concepts and laws, votes and pubic opinion. It is true that the pen and the mind are mighty than the gun. Thus I give Mr. Tucker an F or thumbs down because his statement has been proven by history to be incorrect. And Mike "holds this truth to be self evident"! Hell Mike if we have put up with all of this usurpation for 230 years when the hell are you going to act. The failure of all you cowards to act for all of these years is proof positive of the falsity of the whole argument. You guys are the biggest bags of wind I know. ha, ha, ha, and ha!

J Carlton, Calgary

And Waffler denies the obvious...That America was formed as result of an Armed Revolution. A revolution that was forced by tyranny. And we're going very quickly in that direction again. Words and a pen won't stop the Globalists (Hillary and Obama et al:). But guns will, if need be. And waffler is still a twisted Communist. :)

Francisco, Galt's Gulch

So....what is the third primary right that didn't make it into the distributed quote? Do we need Paul Harvey to tell us the rest of the story?

Mike, Norwalk

Waffler, "all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed". I for one, have tried for years to correct usurpations in court and by attempting to educate legislators. I have also resisted most of the usurpations that I'm aware of. The courts have continued to worsen exponentially in their corruption, usurpations and otherwise criminal activities. The legislators have likewise worsened in there unlawful / unconstitutional structuring of a new criminal statist theocracy. The executive have become totalitarian in their enforcement of evil. As history is repeating itself, the sufferability of evil, evidenced by a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing to reduce the once individual noble sovereign under absolute despotism, is coming to fruition where said sovereigns will throw off such despotic government. Whether the usurpations have occurred for 230 years (which is an over exaggerating lie here) or simply decades / centuries," such has been the patient sufferance of" individual sovereigns. Armed freeman will once again arise and throw off the tyrannous despots to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them (knowing, he who laughs last, laughs best).

E Archer, NYC

The quote is right on. The 3 primary rights are of personal security, personal liberty, and private property. As Mike has explained, usurpations of power occur gradually -- we were born into this country with many of our declared rights already debilitated because our government has given themselves so much more power than the People that it is almost impossible to stop more encroachment. There are flaws in the Constitution, that is for sure, as once Congress has unconstitutionally voted themselves more power and property from the People, there does not seem to be any way to get that power and property back. If the overwhelming majority of Americans are for lower taxes and less government, how do we actually get our Congress to do it? Even the GOP will not really do it -- yes, they may give a temporary 'cut' but they continue to spend more than they bring in every single year. An armed citizenry is a final check on government abuse, not the first check. Waffler, the US is progressively moving towards national socialism, just as the Nazis did, ever trying to take over the world with our 'rules' and military might. We ask why didn't the German people do something about Hitler, well, why aren't the American people doing something about our own fascist practices? When the 'worker' tries to have laws written that take from the employer by force, this is theft, no doubt about it. And yes we are still here BECAUSE we have managed to continue to defend ourselves against the criminal government class -- but it does not stop them from trying over and over again to disarm us in every conceivable way.

Waffler, Smith

The questios in Mike when are you going to use your guns? The man says guns are to stop usurpations, you say we have been usurped since time immemorial. So ipso facto the guns did not work, are not working now and it is all a big bag of wind, signifying nothing, nada, nil!

Mike, Norwalk

I say we have been usurped since time immemorial? hmmm you must not have understood that which I have ever written.

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