British Records Prove Handguns Were Everywhere in 1775

British records from the 1775 Siege of Boston reveal that civilians surrendered over 600 pistols — proving handguns were commonly owned well before the Second Amendment was written. Jeff breaks down what these numbers mean for today's legal battles over handgun rights, how they connect to the Supreme Court's Bruen decision, and why the 'muskets only' argument has never held up. If you carry a handgun, this history belongs in your back pocket.

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Transcript

0:14

Welcome to the Live Sheet podcast. My name is Jeff Do, and I've been a licensed farm dealer for the last 18 years. And this podcast we talk all about things related to Second Amendment. Anything else go in the World of Sports story or anything else I find interesting? So welcome, welcome, welcome. So today we're gonna. Dig into something a little bit more powerful. And it's honestly, it's the kind of thing that should come up every single time somebody tries to tell you. The second Amendment was only about muskets. And the why, why this story is so important was now with all the recent corporate cases and particularly the Bruin case the, uh, text and history of our founding has become more important and for a law to be, considered within the Second Amendments, it, there has to be history and context that it was something that was in practice or near practice back in our founding. And one of the things that's so cool is when you look, start digging into history and you find new things about history, uh, how important. The, uh, ability to defend oneself and the, the right to bear arms was during our founding, so this goes back to the Boston Siege of 1775. We have his hard historical evidence now, actual records from that time that prove handguns were commonly owned. Everyday Americans, and we're talking about not, some academic theory. We're talking about real numbers, real records from that siege of Boston in 1775. So let's set the stage in 1775. And we've already talked about some of this as if you go back and listen to our monthly stories leading up to our 250th birthday that we've been doing. But, after the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, the British were bottled up in Boston. General Cage and its troops were essentially under siege by the colonial militia. Now, inside the city, there were still thousands civilians, and some of'em, I mean, there were just regular residents of Bostons and tension were high. The British were nervous about armed population inside the city while they're being surrounded outside of it. An armed population, huh? Why is that so important? So what did they do? A, a k Also, you know, following the same liberal democratic playbook today, uh, general Ccra Cage, he struck a deal with the residents. He said, look, if you surrender your farms, we'll let you live, sit in the city peacefully. And that's what ha happened. The residents, Boston turned in their arms. Unfortunately. Now here's what gets interesting, because the British, being the British, they kept records, meticulous records in fact, and those records have survived. And what do they show? They what is that the residents of Boston's surrendered 1,778 firearms. Of those 634 were pistols. And they also turned in 38 blunder buses. So let's break it down of the roughly two, 2,450 total firearm. Surrendered. Over a quarter of'em, about 26% were pistols, handguns, personal sidearms. So what's all that mean? It means that in 1775, in one of the most important cities in the Colonial America handgun ownership was not rare. It was not unusual. It was common. Everyday people, shopkeepers, tradesmen, merchants, families, own pistols, not just long guns for hunting, not just muskets for militia duty. Pistols the kind of firearm you carry on your person for personal protection. Now, think about that for a minute.'cause every time the gun control crowd tries to redefine the Second Amendment, what do they say? They say it was about muskets. They say the founders never envisioned personal handguns being widely owned. They say the Second Amendment was only about organized, malicious service with military long arms. Well, here's the bottom line. The historical record says otherwise over 600 pistols in the single city in 1775, a year before the Declaration of Independence was even signed. So let me be straight. This isn't just historical curiosity. This matters right now because it's legal battles over the Second Amendment, especially after the Bruin decision hinge on history and tradition. The Supreme Court in New York City State Rifle and Pistol Association, b Bruin said that firearms regulations have to be consistent with the historical tradition of firearm regulation in America. That's the test now. So when a state tries to ban handguns or restrict ca concealed, carry or limit what kind of firearms you can own, the question comes, is there a historical tradition supporting that restriction? And what these Boston Records show is that there's a deep historical tradition of private handgun ownership in America. Going all the way back to our founding for the Constitution. Before the Bill of Rights was even written, American film Pistols exposed. C. C carry, concealed carry. They had them. It was normal. It was accepted. It was part of the fabric of life. So the next time someone tells you that the founders only intended the Second Amendment to cover muskets, you can point them to general Cage's own records. The British government documented themselves, 634 pistols surrendered by the civilians of Austin, 1775. Now, there's another angle here that I think it's important. Look at what happened in this situation. The British authorities told the people to surrender their arms, and they did. And you know what happened after that? The British didn't fully honor their deal. They made it difficult for people to actually leave. They slow walked process. They held people's property. Once the population was itar, the balance of power shifted entirely towards the government, and that's the core issue. That's the lesson of Boston 1775. That echoes all the way today. Disarmament is about control. It's always about control. The whole reason the founders put the second amendment in, in the Bill of Rights was because they lived through this. They saw what happened. When the government disarmed its people, they experienced it firsthand. Boston wasn't an abstract idea to'em. It was a memory. It was personal. And they made sure they wrote it down in plain English that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed arms, not muske, not long guns, arms, which include the pistols that over 600 families in Boston owned. This isn't just about history, it's about the ongoing fight to preserve your rights based on what Americans have always been an armed. Cary is not modern in a modern invention. It is a founding PRI principle and the data backs it up. So here's what I want you to take away from this. When you see the legal challenges to handgun bans, when you see cases working through the courts using the brewing framework, when you see states trying to restrict your right to carry pistols, remember Boston, remember 1775. Remember that historical records is on our side. It always has been. And if you're falling along with our road to two 50. And we've been marching through towards America's 250th birthday on July 4th, 22. Civic. This is exactly the kind of evidence that ties the revolution directly to the Second Amendment fights we're having today. The founders didn't just fight for independence. They fought for the right to be armed while doing it, and they carried pistols, who, if you found this valuable, subscribe, share it with others, give it five stars. Uh, it's the kind of history that wins arguments in court cases, and people need to hear it. So I appreciate it. I appreciate you listening. Have a great day. I'm Jeff Doell. This is Live to Shoot Defending the Second Amendment. Stay informed, stay armed, and know your history. Talk to you next week. Okay.