--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To \"bear arms\" is, in itself, a military…" description: "\"To \"bear arms\" is, in itself, a military term. One does not bear arms against a rabbit.\" — Garry Wills" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/garry-wills-18365_arms_to-bear-arms-is-in-itself-a-military-ter_1245800.jpg" --- # To "bear arms" is, in itself, a military term. One does… ![“To "bear arms" is, in itself, a military term. One does not bear arms against a rabbit.” quote by Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/garry-wills-18365_arms_to-bear-arms-is-in-itself-a-military-ter_1245800.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/garry-wills-18365_arms_to-bear-arms-is-in-itself-a-military-ter_1245800.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/garry-wills-18365_arms_to-bear-arms-is-in-itself-a-military-ter_1245800.jpg) > “To "bear arms" is, in itself, a military term. One does not bear arms against a rabbit.” [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. "Bear arms" is a military term, not literal weapon‑carrying against animals. **In simple terms:** Bear arms means military service. Key Takeaway Understand true meaning of terms. Themes language politics interpretation Mood analytical critical Type political educational When to use this quote - political debate - legal discussions - education Key Concepts semantic analysis military terminology Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape policy? - What other terms are commonly misunderstood? A Different Perspective Misinterpretation can cause policy errors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms/) [Arms Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms-military-3906733/) [Arms Rabbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms-rabbit-3906734/) [Bear Arms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bear-arms/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Military Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-term-852741/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Rabbits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rabbits/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) ## Related quotes > [I first of all have a problem with the term 'avant-garde'. Because it is a military term, it means the guard that runs before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blixa-bargeld/i-first-of-all-have-a-problem-with-the-term-avant-garde-because-it-is/) [Blixa Bargeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blixa-bargeld/) > [“What’s our situation?” “The technical military term for what we’re doing is hiding,” Terleman lectured.  “We’re where the enemy isn’t, hoping that they don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/what-s-our-situation-the-technical-military-term-for-what-we-re-doing/) [Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/) > [When the Constitution gave us the right to bear arms, it also made us responsible for using them properly. It's not fair of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/when-the-constitution-gave-us-the-right-to-bear-arms-it-also-made-us/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [I want people to have the right to bear arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-shelby/i-want-people-to-have-the-right-to-bear-arms/) [Richard Shelby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-shelby/) > [My view is that we have the Second Amendment rights to bear arms, and in this country my view is that we should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/my-view-is-that-we-have-the-second-amendment-rights-to-bear-arms-and/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [The right to keep and bear arms is a God-given right protected by the Constitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-taylor-greene/the-right-to-keep-and-bear-arms-is-a-god-given-right-protected-by-the/) [Marjorie Taylor Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-taylor-greene/) > [I feel that the Second Amendment is the right to keep and bear arms for our citizenry. This not for someone who's in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharron-angle/i-feel-that-the-second-amendment-is-the-right-to-keep-and-bear-arms/) [Sharron Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharron-angle/) > [However long I serve in public life, I'll stand on that basic liberty of the right to keep and bear arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/however-long-i-serve-in-public-life-i-ll-stand-on-that-basic-liberty/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [I think we all have a right to bear arms, whichever amendment that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-ross/i-think-we-all-have-a-right-to-bear-arms-whichever-amendment-that-is/) [Rick Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-ross/) > [There's no doubt that I respect the Second Amendment, that I also believe there's an individual right to bear arms. That is not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/there-s-no-doubt-that-i-respect-the-second-amendment-that-i-also/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Yeah, it's legal in the United States. It's part of our Constitution. You know, the right to bear arms is because that's the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-t/yeah-it-s-legal-in-the-united-states-it-s-part-of-our-constitution/) [Ice T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-t/) > [I will always vote on the side of freedom and our right to keep and bear arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-martinez/i-will-always-vote-on-the-side-of-freedom-and-our-right-to-keep-and/) [Mel Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-martinez/) > [I want to protect our constitutional right to bear arms in a legal and thoughtful way with background checks that also don't want people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/i-want-to-protect-our-constitutional-right-to-bear-arms-in-a-legal/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [If we don't have the ability to keep and bear arms, then who knows when they are going to decide they want to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/if-we-don-t-have-the-ability-to-keep-and-bear-arms-then-who-knows/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [“The right to bear arms doesn't mean the right to bear weapons of mass destruction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-cohen/the-right-to-bear-arms-doesn-t-mean-the-right-to-bear-weapons-of-mass/) [Cat Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-cohen/) ## More by Garry Wills > [There is a particular danger with a war that God commands. What if God should lose?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/there-is-a-particular-danger-with-a-war-that-god-commands-what-if-god/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [I have been an outsider in journalism and in the academy, because I never fully belonged to any of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/i-have-been-an-outsider-in-journalism-and-in-the-academy-because-i/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Do not touch anything unnecessarily. Beware of pretty girls in dance halls and parks who may be spies, as well as bicycles, revolvers, uniforms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/do-not-touch-anything-unnecessarily-beware-of-pretty-girls-in-dance/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [“You will hear everlastingly, in all discussions about newspapers, companies, aristocracies, or party politics, this argument that the rich man cannot be bribed. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/you-will-hear-everlastingly-in-all-discussions-about-newspapers/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [There's an interesting contrast between born Catholics and converts. Converts are often much more rule-directed. Catholicism isn't something that they breathed in from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/there-s-an-interesting-contrast-between-born-catholics-and-converts/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [The leader is one who mobilizes others toward a goal shared by leader and followers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/the-leader-is-one-who-mobilizes-others-toward-a-goal-shared-by-leader/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Religion embarrasses the commentators. It is offbounds. An editor of the old Life magazine once assigned me a book on religion with remark that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/religion-embarrasses-the-commentators-it-is-offbounds-an-editor-of/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [I don't really write for an audience. I just write what the subject seems to me to require.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/i-don-t-really-write-for-an-audience-i-just-write-what-the-subject/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Only the winners decide what were war crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/only-the-winners-decide-what-were-war-crimes/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Accountability is the essence of democracy. If people do not know what their government is doing, they cannot be truly self-governing. The national security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/accountability-is-the-essence-of-democracy-if-people-do-not-know-what/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [I don't get far enough into a boring book to hate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/i-don-t-get-far-enough-into-a-boring-book-to-hate-it/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Politicians make good company for a while just as children do - their self-enjoyment is contagious. But they soon exhaust their favourite subjects -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/politicians-make-good-company-for-a-while-just-as-children-do-their/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [The romantic artist, off alone in his storm-battered castle, fuming whole worlds from his brain, reflects his culture's most persistent myth, of God creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/the-romantic-artist-off-alone-in-his-storm-battered-castle-fuming/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [I would rather listen to plays in the car than read them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/i-would-rather-listen-to-plays-in-the-car-than-read-them/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Stevenson had noble ideas--as did the young Franklin for that matter. But Stevenson felt that the way to implement them was to present himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/stevenson-had-noble-ideas-as-did-the-young-franklin-for-that-matter/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) [Explore all 35 Garry Wills quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) ## More Arms quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) [Brian Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-reade/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. 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Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? 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