God, Guns, and Liberty

By James Burgett

                         (Photo featuring ESV Bible, Pocket Constitution and Ruger SP101 with custom grips by Burgett's Fine Gunsmithing)

On June 7th, 1773, Reverend Simeon Howard preached before the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston. Howard discussed Christianity, self defence, and the responsibility to maintain freedom. His sermon predates the ratification of the Second Amendment by 18 years, but the themes he touched on in his address bear a striking resemblance to the text of the amendment.

Howard began with Galatians 5:1:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.

Howard stated that liberty was not a privilege of government, but God's gift. He felt that men ought to protect that liberty and that not to do so was the neglect of Christian duty.

Howard asked:

Would not he, who should lose his life by neglecting to resist a wild beast, be criminal in the sight of God? And can he be innocent who loses it by neglecting to oppose the violent attacks of wicked men, oftentimes as fierce and cruel as the most savage beast?

Howard asked, "How can a man who has not been able to protect his life stand before God in innocence? He did not believe in the necessity of men to submit to violence and to give up their rights in the name of Christianity.

He stated:

Nature certainly forbids this tame submission, and loudly calls to a more vigorous defence.

Howard argued that Christianity did not take away the natural right of self-defense, even when defending that right required the use of arms.

He went so far as to say that citizens have a duty to protect their country:

A people who would stand fast in their liberty, should furnish themselves with weapons proper for their defense, and learn the use of them.

Howard urged his citizens to have guns and know how to use them. He spoke out against relying solely on standing armies as they could be used by rulers as a way to oppress the people. Rather, he advocated for a militia made up of citizens who cared about defending their homes, families and freedoms.

The link to the Second Amendment is evident. Howard was preaching about organized militias and armed citizens well before the amendment was ratified in 1791. His sermon shows that these ideas were being discussed in colonial churches before the American Revolution.

Howard also warned about the consequences of failing to resist oppression:

A people may err by too long neglecting such means, and shamefully suffer the sword to rust in its scabberd when it ought to be employed in defending their liberty.

He argued that surrendering to unjust demands encouraged further oppression. Every concession gave those who were in power a license to ask more, and more, until the people were unable to regain their freedom.

Howard also tied civil liberty to religious freedom:

Besides, the destruction of civil liberty is generally fatal to religion.

A government willing to destroy the rights of its people could also threaten their freedom to worship. The protection of civil liberty was thus inextricably linked to the protection of religious freedom for Howard.

The duty of future generations was a particular concern:

Heaven has made us their guardians, and entrusted to our care their liberty, honour, and happiness.

Howard continued:

If the present inhabitants of a country submit to slavery, slavery is the inheritance which they will leave their children.

Howard believed that parents had the duty to maintain the freedom which their children would inherit. To give up those rights others would be affected in the future.

He went further, saying that resistance to oppression was a duty unto others:

It is therefore an act of benevolence to oppose and destroy that power which is employed in injuring others, and as much, when it is that of a tyrant, as of a wild beast.

Howard believed that allowing oppression to continue only strengthened those responsible for it. Giving away rights did not only hurt themselves but also facilitated others to suffer the same fate.

Howard preached this sermon two years prior to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. His sentiments are evidence of the manner in which Christians discussed citizenship and resistance to tyranny in colonial America prior to independence.

The Second Amendment would go on to guarantee the right to keep and bear arms by the people. While it was rooted in several legal and political traditions, Howard's sermon demonstrates that the defense of liberty was also being given as a Christian duty.

Howard's position was that liberty is a gift from God, hence there was a duty to defend that liberty. A man would not only be responsible for his own freedom but the rights that his children would receive. It was to be derelict in that duty to relinquish those rights by cowardice or neglect.

Primary Source

Howard, Simeon. A Sermon Preached to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery-Company, in Boston, New-England, June 7th, 1773. Boston: John Boyles, 1773. Sabin Americana, No. 33278.

Read the entire sermon that Reverend Simeon Howard preached in 1773 here: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/a-sermon-preached-to-the-ancient-and-honorable-artillery-company-in-boston/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Bibliography

Howard, Simeon. A Sermon Preached to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery-Company, in Boston, New-England, June 7th, 1773. Boston: John Boyles, 1773. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500–1926.

United States. Constitution of the United States. Amendment II. Ratified December 15, 1791.

                                      Image provided by Burgett's Fine Gunsmithing

The Röhm RG-14: The Saturday Night Special That Changed The World

By James Burgett

On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot outside the Washington Hilton Hotel by John Hinckley Jr. The gun used was a Röhm RG-14, a six-shot .22 Long Rifle handgun that Hinckley bought for about $47. The RG-14 was a standard "Saturday Night Special" handgun; a term that was used for an inexpensive, compact gun that was widely available in the U.S. during the 1960s-70s and early 1980s.

The RG-14 was a German manufacturing product called the Röhm, which was founded in 1909. Röhm started making inexpensive guns in the 1950s, and later produced a series of revolvers for the budget market. After the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, which limited the import of many low-cost handguns, the company created RG Industries in Miami, Fla. By assembling firearms domestically using imported components, RG Industries could continue supplying the American market.

There was only one goal for the RG-14: low cost. Unlike most revolvers, the RG-14 featured a relatively inexpensive cast-alloy frame, with steel used for the barrel and cylinder; this is a concept that is now used on modern revolvers such as the Taurus Poly Protector and Ruger LCR. These revolvers use a polymer frame and steel cylinder and barrel inserts. They had a simple double-action/single-action trigger, of which the double action can be described as "horrendously heavy," and basic sights and finish, which were indicative of their low-cost origins. There were a number of different designs of revolver, some of which had shorter barrels that were designed to be easily concealed.

One of the most obvious ways of saving money was on the cylinder assembly. Rather than incorporating the more elaborate extraction systems found on most revolvers, such as a swing-out cylinder, the RG-14 employed a simplified arrangement with a removable cylinder pin that could be used to push spent cases from the chambers. This eliminated some of the additional components and machining required by more sophisticated designs. It was not particularly convenient, but convenience was secondary to manufacturing a revolver that could be sold at an extremely low price.

Despite the criticism of the materials and workmanship of the inexpensive handguns such as the RG-14, these guns occupied a significant market niche. Even some people buying handguns didn't want to pay for a top quality revolver, and companies like RG Industries offered a cheaper option. However, their low prices and compact dimensions also made them frequent targets of political criticism, particularly when discussions turned to criminal misuse and handgun regulation.

John Hinckley Jr. bought two RG-14 revolvers from Rocky's Pawn Shop in Dallas, TX on October 13, 1980. Within six months, he fired six shots at President Reagan with one of them. Four people were injured: Reagan, Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy, White House Press Secretary James Brady, and police officer Thomas Delahanty. The .22 caliber bullet hit Reagan's car and bounced, penetrating his chest and getting stuck in his left lung. He was saved by emergency surgery.

The shooting brought considerable attention to the RG-14 and inexpensive handguns generally. It also helped to spur the political discussion that led to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993. In 1986, RG Industries shut down and ended its production of American handguns.

In modern times, RG-14 revolvers are still relatively cheap twentieth-century firearms. They demonstrate the compromises that manufacturers made to make guns functional at the minimum cost from a gunsmithing point of view. They are made of cast-alloy, have simple mechanisms and were finished simply, compared to the more elegant revolvers of the same era.

The RG-14 was a mediocre gun. It was crafted cheaply, sold cheaply and made for the lowest end of the handgun market. Its relation with the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, however, has ensured its status as a part of American history. It's as if it's a reminder that even the most mundane guns can become historical if they are related to historic events.

References 

Knupp, Jeremiah. "I Have This Old Gun: Röhm RG 14." American Rifleman, March 3, 2026.

Marshall, Tom. "The RG-14 Revolver: The Gun That Got the Gipper." RECOIL, February 3, 2022.

RG Industries. Advertisement. American Handgunner, September/October 1980.

Earley, Pete. "The Gun: A Saturday Night Special From Miami." The Washington Post, March 31, 1981.

Delahanty v. Hinckley, 564 A.2d 758 (D.C. 1989).