This Baker’s Dozen is boiled down from several dozen quotes: note that not all of the quotes are from Founding Fathers and not all from so-called conservatives. Or libertarians.

The Second Amendment to the US Constitution does not give us the right to keep and bear arms. Nor is the right to do so limited just to law-abiding American citizens: it is a inherent human right that we have because we are made by, and in the image of, God the Creator.

1. “An armed society is a polite society.” – Robert A. Heinlein
2. “To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms.” – Richard Henry Lee
3. “The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.” – Samuel Adams
4. “The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed.” – Alexander Hamilton
5. “A free people ought to be armed.” – George Washington
6. “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.” – Thomas Jefferson
7. “A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained in arms, is the best most natural defense of a free country.” – James Madison
8. “Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion for the defense of the country, the overthrow of tyranny, or in private self-defense.” – John Adams
9. “I would like to see every woman know how to handle firearms as naturally as they know how to handle babies.” – Annie Oakley
10. “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Benjamin Franklin
11. “I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials.” – George Mason
12. “The right of citizens to bear arms is just one more guarantee against arbitrary government, one more safeguard against tyranny.” – Hubert H. Humphrey
13. “Civilian ownership of firearms is not only a constitutional right, but also a fundamental aspect of the American identity, rooted in our history, culture, and tradition.” – Ronald Reagan