The Declaration of Independence - 1776

The Articles of Confederation - 1777

The Constitution for the United States, Its Sources and Its Application

WHY AN ARMED CITIZENRY?

From "AN ARMED SOCIETY" by Stephen P. Holbrook

Where Is Freedom Guaranteed

By A Heavily-Armed Civilian
Population?

In A Land Where Assault Rifles Are Freely

In The Homes And Hands Of Her Citizens!
In 1444, at a small river in northern Switzerland known as Saint Jacob on the
Birs, some 1,400 Swiss Confederates wielding bows and arrows, polearms, and
swords attacked 44,000 French invaders, some of whom were armed with a
new technology -- firearms. After four hours, 900 Swiss were killed, but the
remnent defiantly refused to surrender. They were promptly massacred and
thrown into mass graves. The audacity of the small Swiss force to assault a
massive, seasoned army served to deter further invaders. European tyrants of
the day must have thought, "Don't mess with the Swiss -- they're crazy!"

Switzerland, Europes' most peaceful country, has no standing army.

Instead, the country is defended by a militia composed of virtually all male
citizens. The government issues rifles to these citizens, and the rifles are
kept at their homes.

Such also was the intent of the founders of the United States and the intent of
the Constitution for the United States; that the executive could not raise armies,
that responsibility resting solely with Congress and then only for periods not
exceeding two years; that standing armies should be minimized in times of
peace; and that defense of the nation should rest with the armed citizen militia.
Such is the intent of the Second Article of amendment to the Constitution for
the United States.

Exemplifying the slogan, "What if they gave a war and no one came?"
Switzerland avoided both World War I and World War II. Though Switzerland
was surrounded by the Axis powers, even Hitler was afraid to invade this
country of riflemen.

Winston Churchill wrote in 1944: "Of all the neutrals, Switzerland has the
greatest right to distinction....She has been a democratic State, standing for
freedom in self-defence among her mountains, and in thought, in spite of race,
largely on our side."

The Swiss call their rifles "assault rifles" to add to the mystique and convince
foreign rulers that these people mean business. These rifles have never been
used for criminal purposes, although they would certainly be used against any
invader. Instead, they are used for essentially one purpose: to shoot as many
bullseyes on paper targets as quickly as possible at sporting competitions...

The Swiss have the reputation of being the world's foremost bankers. The fact
that many are regular shooters and presumably better able to protect their
stashes can't hurt their reputation for protecting your gold.

In Switzerland, firearms in the hands of the citizenry are considered wholesome

and a civic duty. Newspapers and cosmetics are advertised in shooting
programs I picked up at the rifle range. Can one imagine the New York Times
placing an advertisement in a program for a U.S. pistol shooting event?

The backbone of Swiss defense and independence is the individual citizen with
his assault rifle, which he keeps at home and with which he stays proficient by
entering matches such as today's Historisches St. Jakobsshiessen.

The St. Jacob's historical shoot exemplifies aspects of Swiss culture which
explain why none of the belligerent countries invaded Switzerland in World
War I or II. This country has a centuries-old tradition of bloody and stout
resistance to the most powerful European armies. Its people have continued
into the twentieth century to be an armed citizenry whose members regularly
exercise in weapon handling and practice.

My friends listened in disbelief as I explained that the then pending "Crime

Bill" in America would make it a five-year felony to possess a firearm
magazine holding over ten cartridges if the magazine had been made after
1994. They laughed contemptuously at the anti-gun claim that "assault rifles"
have but a sole purpose: to kill as many people as quickly as possible. To these
Italian Swiss, a fucile d'assalto (assault rifle) has only one purpose in
peacetime: to shoot as many bullseyes as quickly as possible.

These Swiss saw this disarming of the American people, denying them the right
to possess assault rifles, as contrary to the rights of the citizen. Indeed, the rifles
to be banned by the Crime Bill were not real "assault weapons," they were
semi-automatic sporters. The Swiss pointed out that for centuries, no European
power has dared aggress against Switzerland, a nation in arms. An armed
citizenry in Alpine terrain has never been very inviting. If Switzerland were to
be invaded, the invaders would face assault rifles in the hands of skilled
shooters -- the Swiss citizenry.

After shooting, we sat in the festival tent drinking Ticino Merlot wine mixed
with a clear Sprite-like soda, a regional favorite for a hot day. Locals excitedly
told me the history of the Mesocco region, and explained the broader Swiss
ideal of freedom.

Swiss Freedom & Liberty

The idea, but not the reality, of liberta (liberty) existed in medieval Milan and
spread abroad, including to the Mesocco valley. The people were poor and
uneducated, but yearned for freedom. Mesocco freed itself from Milan in 1478,
but economics and political power continued to make it difficult for peasants to
own weapons. The three independent communities of Mesocco in that century
are represented today by the blue, white, and gray on the ribbons on which the
shooters' medals are pinned.

Machiavelli's 16th Century political writings called Switzerland "most armed

and most free." Within parts of what is now the Italian-speaking part of
Switzerland, however, there was an everpresent struggle between the ruling
classes and the peasants. The commoners were allowed to have "hunting
weapons" under the Articles of 1524, issued from Llanz by powerful lords in
northern Italy. However, it would be naive to suppose that peasants did not
own arms before that date, or that their arms would not be used for the
imperatives of personal security and liberty, if not for rebellion against the
elite.

The Swiss Confederation began in 1291 when three cantons united. (Austria's
ruling family, the Hapsburgs, had tried to send a judge to rule the three Swiss
cantons, but the Swiss promptly killed the would-be foreign ruler, united and
have remained unmolested ever since). The Confederation grew over the
centuries to include more cantons -- it had 13 when the United States was
founded with 13 states.

Switzerland did not, however, remain unaffected by the European social

revolution in 1848. Elsewhere, the forces of progress were crushed. In
Switzerland, the populace won. The Confederation, among other things,
abolished any cantonal prohibitions on possession of arms by requiring
every man to be armed.

The country had no firearms regulations until after World War II, when a few
cantons passed some gun control regulations. The voters rejected giving the
Confederation power to legislate on firearms until 1993, when the claim was
made that "something had to be done about foreigners buying firearms" in
Switzerland. Yet no law would be passed until 1997.

To the surprise of the citizens, in early 1996 stringent gun control regulations
over law-abiding citizens were proposed in the Swiss Parliament. These did not
pass, largely due to the resistance of the Swiss shooting societies; had they
passed, the shooting societies immediately would have mounted a referendum
campaign to repeal them. I published an article in Neue Zuercher Zeitung,
Switzerland's largest newspaper, entitled "Avoiding the Mistakes of the United
States" in opposition of the proposed law.

As it turned out, in 1997 the Confederation passed a relatively innocuous

federal firearms law that requires a permit to carry a handgun in some instances
but exempts carrying to shooting ranges. However, the law also allows all
Swiss citizens, male and female, to purchase surplus Sturmgewehr 57
assault rifles (converted to semi-automatic only) for about $50 each.

The Swiss have, through referenda, consistently rejected membership in

the United Nations and the European Community. The majority of the
Swiss felt U.N. membership was inconsistent with independence, and that
the EC would impose German-style gun controls.
Lawyers, judges, bankers, cheesemakers, and watchmakers -- all seem to have
firearms. Armed and disciplined, the Swiss people have what Machiavelli
called civic virtue. In a world seemingly manipulated by the goddess fortuna
(the banking cartels), the tradition of having a heavily-armed civilian
populace has been this small nation's guarantee of freedom and self-
determination.

Stephen P. Halbrook, Ph.D., J.D., is the Fairfax, Virginia attorney who

successfully argued the Brady case, Printz v. U.S. in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Author of That Every Man Be Armed, Halbrook's latest book is Target
Switzerland: Swiss Armed Neutrality In World War II (1998, Sarpedon
Publishers, Dept. AG, 49 Front St., Rockville Centre, NY 11570).

An aid to your understanding of the reasons for the Second Article of Amendment to the
Constitution for the United States.

Reproduction of all or any parts of the above text may be used for general
information.
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