On July 4, 1776, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, founding father, Benjamin Franklin stated, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall hang separately.” These words had great meaning during the American Revolution, and they continue to resonate today, nearly 250 years later.
We must continue to be vigilant, and at times fight to protect the freedoms upon which our country was founded.
As gun owners, we often focus all of our attention on the Bill of Rights, zeroing in on the 2nd Amendment and its meaning. We take pride in our right to keep and bear arms and celebrate the right by spending time at the range, sharing our passion for the shooting sports with our friends and family, and at times, engaging in lively debates with others that may not understand our point of view or passion for the freedoms the 2nd Amendment protects. But it is important to remember that the freedoms enumerated in the Bill of Rights were first recognized by our founders in the Declaration of Independence.
At the time of its writing, the 13 colonies were already embroiled in the American Revolution, fighting for the founding principles of our country, eloquently outlined in the document, “That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
This weekend we hope you will take a moment to read the Declaration of Independence. That you’ll reflect upon its meaning. That you’ll join us in celebrating the awesome undertaking and tremendous risk our founding fathers took to create our great country. And, that you’ll also remember the brave men and women that fight for us so we can continue to enjoy these time-honored freedoms.
Finally, if your Independence Day celebration leads you to the shooting range, we hope that you’ll ring it in with what we at Mossberg like to refer to as, “the sound of enduring freedom” – a thirteen shot salute, one shot for each of the original founding colonies.
Have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July!
