James Madison - Arms

"Americans have the right and advantage of being armed, unlike the people of other countries, whose leaders are afraid to trust them with arms."

James Madison is saying that 'Americans', not the American government, have the advantage of being armed. The 'leaders of people of other countries' are afraid to trust them (i.e. the PEOPLE with arms).



This Founding Father of the United States supported the right of the PEOPLE, not the goverment or a specific militia organized by the goverment, to BEAR ARMS.



This is affirmed by the language of the Declaration of Independence where it is written:

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Did they plan to do this by convincing the 'Redcoats' (the army of the lawful government of the colonies) to free them from England? Or did they take up their OWN arms to do this?



It was their own arms - they didn't use the British government's army to overthrow British control over the 13 Colonies; American patriots, revoluntionaries, used their OWN arms to do this.