Guns have always sparked strong emotions. They can represent freedom, protection, or, sometimes, violence. Across history, many people have shared their thoughts on guns.
These quotes can inspire, provoke, or make us think. Here’s a collection of some of the most impactful gun quotes that capture these varied feelings. Let’s dive in and see what different voices have to say about this powerful subject.
Quotes Reflecting History of Guns
“The right to bear arms is the right to be free.”
“Among the many misdeeds of British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest.”
“Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples’ liberty’s teeth.”
“The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles.”
“Guns are the crutches that a weak nation uses.”
“The possession of arms is the distinction of a free man from a slave.”
“A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined.”
“To understand the history of firearms is to understand the history of civilization.”
“An armed society is a polite society.”
“More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren’t so busy denying them.”
“The gun has been the single most significant tool in the shaping of history.”
“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
“Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.”
“The history of gun control is a history of oppression and tyranny.”
“Give a man a gun and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank and he can rob the world.”
“There are no dangerous weapons. There are only dangerous men.”
“A gun is no more dangerous than a cricket bat in the hands of a madman.”
“Fear not the weapon but the hand that wields it.”
“The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.”
“History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.”
“Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion… in private self-defense.”
“The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.”
“In times of tyranny and injustice, when law oppresses the people, the outlaw takes his place in history.”
“Men have been swayed not by arguments but by the power of weapons.”
“A gun gives you the body, not the bird.”
“To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.”
“Disarm the people – that is the best and most effective way to enslave them.”
“History is written by those who can hold a pen and a gun.”
“It is always easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them.”
“The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed.”
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
“The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.”
Quotes Highlighting Gun Control Debate
“To disarm the people is the most effectual way to enslave them.”
“The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
“I think the NRA, they got it half-right, but they got it half-wrong.”
“The right to own a gun is not a right to endanger others.”
“Strict gun laws are about as effective as strict drug laws.”
“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…”
“Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”
“Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.”
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
“An armed society is a polite society.”
“You don’t need no gun control, you know what you need? We need some bullet control.”
“The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns, we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise, they will win and the decent people will lose.”
“Fear is the mother of gun ownership.”
“For every assault, there is a self-defense.”
“The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject peoples to possess arms.”
“Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of arms.”
“Everyone has a right to a healthy, beautiful life. Guns are not part of that vision.”
“Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence.”
“Gun control means using both hands.”
“Guns are tools. The issue lies in who wields them.”
“One loves one’s country the way it’s just. Without treating it as a god.”
“To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.”
“Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars.”
“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.”
“The great object is that every man be armed.”
“A gun is no more dangerous than a cricket bat in the hands of a madman.”
“I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials.”
“Gun control isn’t about guns. It’s about control.”
“In a society riddled with violence, should we not focus on fostering peace rather than further arming ourselves?”
“The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.”
“Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to manage conflict without violence.”
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
Famous Military Gun Quotes
“The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles.”
“You don’t win a war by dying for your country. You win a war by making the other bastard die for his.”
“I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.”
“No man is a man until he has been a soldier.”
“One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them.”
“The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“The ultimate test for a rifleman is a long-range shot under combat conditions against a highly skilled enemy who is determined and capable of killing him.”
“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
“Among the many misdeeds of British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest.”
“Peace is an extension of war by political means. Plenty of people use the rifle. The rifle is the weapon of democracy.”
“Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men.”
“In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.”
“He who dares, wins.”
“The most deadly weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle!”
“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”
“Demoralize the enemy from within by surprise, terror, sabotage, assassination. This is the war of the future.”
“Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.”
“You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory.”
“I don’t know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but, by God, they terrify me.”
“If I had my way, I’d remove January from the calendar altogether and have an extra July instead.”
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
“Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples’ liberty’s teeth.”
“Sometimes you have to pick the gun up to put the gun down.”
“Victory belongs to the most persevering.”
“There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet an enemy.”
“A marine on duty has no friends.”
“Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world. A Marine doesn’t have that problem.”
“If your attack is going too well, you’re walking into an ambush.”
“Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid.”
“In war, the chief incalculable is the human will.”
“Victory at all costs—victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.”
“A soldier’s life revolves around it; the weapon is his tool, his companion, his means of survival in the chaos of war.”
Noteworthy Gun Quotes from Movies
“Go ahead, make my day.”
“Yippee-ki-yay, motherf***er!”
“I know what you’re thinking. ‘Did he fire six shots or only five?’ Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?”
“Say ‘hello’ to my little friend!”
“Why don’t you take a good look at her. She’s a one-of-a-kind, a collector’s item. One full inch of reinforced titanium housing, seven chance-proof chambers. She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
“This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend.”
“I don’t aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye.”
“Guns are like shoes. Some people take care of them better than others.”
“You shoot me in a dream, you better wake up and apologize.”
“I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
“I see you’ve got your best boots on, kid. You’re gonna need them.”
“I’m no killer. I’m just a street kid with a gun.”
“Every gun makes its own tune.”
“A gun is a tool, Marian, just like a shovel or an axe.”
“When you have to shoot, shoot; don’t talk.”
“This is your brain on drugs. This is your brain with a bullet in it.”
“I think angels would have more to do if we didn’t have guns around to kill people with.”
“Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a goddamn marvel of modern science.”
“This is not a weapon of war; it’s a personal defense tool.”
“You might know what I’m gonna do, but that ain’t gonna help you, because you don’t know what I’m gonna do next.”
“I’m a soldier, not a monster. Though, sometimes I wonder.”
“Guns are neat little things, aren’t they? They can kill extraordinary people with very little effort.”
“Sometimes you gotta pick the gun up to put the gun down.”
“You can get further with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word.”
“It’s not the bullet that kills you; it’s the hole.”
“You can’t handle the truth!”
“There’s only two men I trust. One is me. The other’s not you.”
“Knives are quieter and don’t need reloading.”
“You see, in this world, there’s two kinds of people, my friend: those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig.”
“A gun in the hands of a bad man is a bad thing. A gun in the hands of a good man is no threat to anyone except bad people.”
“I don’t like violence, Tom. I’m a businessman; blood is a big expense.”
“When you can’t run, you crawl. And when you can’t crawl, you find someone to carry you.”
Philosophical Views on Guns – Quotes
“Firearms are tools, and like any tool, their benefits depend on the skill and intent of the user.”
“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer’s hand.”
“Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”
“Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest.”
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
“The right to bear arms is not only about protecting oneself but also about the right to defend one’s freedom.”
“The gun has no power in itself; the one who wields it holds all the power.”
“To disarm the people is the best and most effective way to enslave them.”
“The pen is mightier than the sword, but in the face of a gun, both are powerless.”
“Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion in private self-defense.”
“An armed society is a polite society.”
“The possession of arms is the distinction between a freeman and a slave.”
“Choose your weapon, but prepare your mind, for intelligence shall always overcome brutality.”
“The first step in the direction of preparation to avert war if possible, and to be fit for war if it should come, is to teach men to shoot.”
“One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them.”
“The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles.”
“You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.”
“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.”
“A gun is not a mere weapon. It is an extension of the fighter’s will.”
“In a nation regularly armed, people never yield to tyranny.”
“The philosophy of the gun is the philosophy of self-defense, self-reliance, and personal responsibility.”
“To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.”
“The gun has been the equalizer in many a quest for justice.”
“We are all born free and equal, but sometimes it takes an armed struggle to ensure that freedom.”
“A people free to choose will always choose peace, but must be prepared to fight for it.”
“Weapons may be derived from the mind, but their true power lies in intention.”
“Freedom and the right to bear arms are intrinsically linked; one cannot exist without the other.”
“it is not about the gun but the person who holds it that makes all the difference.”
“Safety and security do not come from arms alone but from the wisdom to know when and how to use them.”
“The gun is a symbol of both liberty and responsibility, demanding respect.”
“An armed man is a citizen; an unarmed man is a subject.”
Inspiring Quotes from Gun Rights Advocates
“The right of self-defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and to individuals.”
“To disarm the people is the best and most effective way to enslave them.”
“A free people ought to be armed.”
“The right to bear arms is as old as the republic itself, and it is enshrined in our Constitution to ensure the freedom and security of our citizens.”
“An armed society is a polite society.”
“Owning a handgun doesn’t make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician.”
“Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence.”
“The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
“Self-defense is not just a right, it’s a duty.”
“To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms.”
“Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.”
“The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.”
“The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.”
“More guns in law-abiding hands means fewer crimes.”
“Gun rights are about more than just guns; they are about personal freedom.”
“Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed.”
“The right to defend one’s home and one’s person when attacked has been guaranteed through the ages by common law.”
“Disarm the people – that is the best and most effective way to enslave them.”
“You don’t shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.”
“Guns are the equalizer that ensure even the smallest individual has the power to stand up for themselves.”
“I carry a gun because I can’t carry a cop.”
“A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
“The NRA fights to make sure we don’t lose the right to defend ourselves when life and death are on the line.”
“A gun is no more dangerous than a cricket bat in the hands of a madman.”
“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
“A man’s rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.”
“A free people claim their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their magistrate.”
“Guns ensure the balance of power between the citizenry and the government.”
“It is not the weapon that is the danger but the person who wields it.”
“The second amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed.”
Thought-Provoking Gun Violence Quotes
“Guns are a complex symbol of power and violence, inextricably linked to our deepest fears and desires.”
“So, are we to be forever the hostage to our own weaponry?”
“The gun has no power, until a man behind it pulls the trigger.”
“There’s a certain breed of human who, when armed, has a harder time not using their weapons.”
“Guns are not always about destruction, sometimes they represent the cry of a desperate spirit.”
“The trigger of a gun can only be pulled once, but its consequences may last forever.”
“A bullet tells a thousand lies in the flight of its passage.”
“Guns kill far too many people, and yet they bring forth the illusion of protection and power.”
“In the hands of a poet, a gun is just another pen that writes in blood.”
“It is not the gun but the human heart that turns against another.”
“From my cold, dead hands!”
“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
“A gun gives you the body, not the bird.”
“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.”
“To carry a gun is to become larger than life but smaller in the eyes of morality.”
“This world needs less guns and more empathy.”
“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”
“A gun is a tool, no better or worse than the man who wields it.”
“If ballots won’t work, bullets will.”
“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer’s hand.”
“True peace is not merely the absence of war, but the presence of justice.”
“A gun is not a mere object; it is a vessel carrying the immense weight of intention.”
“He who profits by a gun must be prepared to die by one.”
“A gun in the hand is worth more than a policeman on the phone.”
“Even in the gentlest hands, a gun remains an instrument of death.”
“An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger, or a beer.”
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”
“Every bullet fired has a story, and most are tragedies.”
“It’s not about the gun, but the soul of the one who holds it.”
“To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.”
“War is what happens when language fails.”
“A gun may save a life, but it can end one just as easily.”
Wrapping-up
These gun quotes capture a wide range of opinions and emotions surrounding firearms. Whether you are passionate about gun rights or concerned about gun control, these words provide food for thought. They reflect the complexity of the issue and the varied perspectives people hold.
Reading quotes from famous figures, thinkers, and everyday people can deepen our understanding and spark meaningful discussions. By sharing and reflecting on these quotes, we continue the important conversation about guns and their place in our society.
