BY: Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner

Dave Workman is an author, senior editor at TheGunMag.com, communications director for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, award-winning outdoor writer, former member of the NRA Board of Directors and recognized expert on Washington State gun laws.

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In the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida, anti-gunners from Orlando to Olympia have been blaming the National Rifle Association for cooking up this concept of standing one’s ground and hammering it into law in some 25 states, of which Washington is not included. This column has discussed Washington’s unique situation. In the Evergreen State, Stand-Your-Ground is a principle enshrined in State Supreme Court rulings dating back almost a century. But standing one’s ground is an American concept much older than that. And perhaps the man to blame was a tuberculosis-infected war veteran named John Parker. On April 19, 1775, he was the captain in command of approximately 80 members of the Lexington militia when, according to history, he issued the famous order:

“Stand your ground; don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”—Capt. John Parker, commander, Lexington Militia, April 19, 1775   Stand Your Ground. Over the years, the phrase has come to mean many things to many people, and on Thursday, 237 years after British troops under the command of Lt. Col. Francis Smith marched from Boston in the first attempt on American soil by the standing government to confiscate the arms of the people, we will celebrate its true origin. Smith, whose troops had been dispatched by British Gen. Thomas Gage, was preceded into the village by a forward element commanded by Maj. John Pitcairn. They found the militia on the Lexington commons, standing in formation. It is not clear to this day who fired first, but what occurred in the hours following that initial skirmish, as Redcoats advanced farther up the road toward Concord, removes any doubt who fired last. By the time British troops arrived at Concord Bridge, they were facing hundreds of angry Colonials. Every one of them had a gun, and it was loaded. There were militia and Minutemen, the latter so-named because they were expected to be ready to go at a minute’s notice with rifle, powder and ball, perhaps a hatchet, knife and – for a few – either one or two pistols. They had heard about Lexington and their neighbors shot down, and they were either spoiling for a fight or working up to it. That long retreat back to Boston, according to an account of the battles on Wikipedia, was not terribly pleasant for the Brits:

Militia forces by this time had risen to about 2,000, and Smith sent out flankers again. When three companies of militia ambushed the head of his main force near either Ephraim Hartwell’s or (more likely) Joseph Mason’s Farm, the flankers closed in and trapped the militia from behind. Flankers also trapped the Bedford militia after a successful ambush near the Lincoln–Lexington border, but British casualties were mounting from these engagements and from persistent long-range fire, and the exhausted British were running out of ammunition.—Wikipedia

To blame the NRA for a concept dating back to the opening volleys of the Revolutionary War seems rather desperate, but as this column noted the other day, the NRA gets blamed for all sorts of things over which it had no influence. One should read up on the history of the American Revolution. April 19 is always an appropriate day to begin such an endeavor. Gun prohibitionists have attempted to capitalize on the Martin slaying not only to push for repeal of “SYG” laws, but also to argue against “Shall Issue” concealed carry laws now on the books in 40 states. These people would dearly love to see laws adopted that ban modern sport-utility rifles and restrict handgun sales. They’re a bit late. All of these guns they don’t want American citizens to have; we’ve already got them. What happened that mild spring day in 1775 should be taken as a lesson that Americans will not give them up without a fight.