Laws which forbid to wear arms only disarms those who are not disposed to commit the crime for which the law is mean to prevent. The execution of this law deprives the citizen of personal liberty. It subjects the innocent to all the disagreeable circumstances that should only fall on the guilty. It makes the situation of the assaulted worse, and of the assailants better, and encourages rather than prevents murder, as it requires less courage to attack unarmed than armed persons.
Rephrased from Legal Commonplace Book ~ Thomas Jefferson 1809