Oath Keepers to Muster on Lexington Battle Green, MA on April 19, 2...
Captain John Parker: “Stand Your Ground. Do Not Fire Unless Fired Upon. But If They Mean To Have A War, Let It Begin Here.”
Oath Keepers will be mustering on Lexington Green, in Lexington Massachusetts, this April 19, 2013! Stewart Rhodes, Founder of Oath Keepers, has been invited to speak at a rally being held on the Green by the Massachusetts chapter of Gun Rights Across America. The organizers of the rally have also extended an invitation to all Oath Keepers to attend the rally and take part in honoring our fallen heroes of the first battle of the American Revolution, and in taking a stand in defense of our right to bear arms.
At the conclusion of Stewart’s speech, he will lead the audience in an oath renewal ceremony.
Here are the details:
Gun Rights Across America “Muster on the Battle Green” Rally.
Lexington Battle Green, Lexington, Massachusetts
APRIL 19, 2013
11am to 4pm
From Gun Rights Across America: Massachusetts:
Gun Rights Across America: Massachusetts, cordially invites one and all to attend our Pro-Second Amendment Rally.
Please join on us on April 19th, from Noon to 4:00pm, on the Lexington Battle Green, in Lexington MA. for the “Muster on the Battle Green” rally.
We will have many keynote speakers to charge the rally. We want our elected officials to hear the voice of the majority, the law abiding, Constitution loving Patriots.
Tell one and all that we will be rallying on the Battle Green that changed America forever. Where the famous “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” occured. It’s time to call on the ghosts of our ancestors and forefathers to engergize us into continuing the good fight to protect our 2A rights.Like and share this, lets make this a rally to be remembered!
Please remember concealed carry only. No open cary of any type of firearms.
Go to the Muster on the Battle Green Facebook Page for more info. And here is a local newspaper write up about the event.
There is a strong possibility that Pastor Chuck Baldwin, the Oath Keepers National Chaplain, will also be speaking. We are waiting to confirm that he can make it. Larry Pratt, of Gun Owners of America, has also been invited, as has Dr. Edwin Vieira. As soon as they are confirmed, we will let you know. Other speakers are being lined up now.
Please note that there will also be an additional rally on April 19th 3 – 7 PM, at the West Springfield Town Common, West Springfield, Massachusetts, conducted by Massachusetts Oath Keepers (see below for details).
NOTE FROM STEWART:
Oath Keepers, I never expected to have another chance to stand on Lexington Battle Green and conduct an oath renewal ceremony, like we did back on April 19, 2009 (which is listed as our official birth-date and place, as an org). But here we are, in 2013 and we have been handed yet another opportunity to do something remarkable, yet again. Hat’s off to Stephen Redfern of Gun Rights Across America, Massachusetts for jumping through all the hoops to get the permit to use the Green, and for inviting us to participate.
If you missed the chance to stand on the Lexington Battle Green in 2009 and renew your oath, you now have that chance, this April 19. And if you can make it, I urge you to do so (we apologize for the short notice, but that really couldn’t be helped).
I can tell you that it is a very moving, powerful experience to stand on the exact spot where Captain Parker and his men stood, where patriot blood watered the tree of Liberty, and the “shot heard round the world” was fired on April 19, 1775. And even more powerful to do so on the anniversary of that battle, April 19, and to then stand on that “venerable spot” and renew your oath to defend the Constitution – a truly amazing, once in a lifetime kind of experience.
When we conducted an oath renewal ceremony on the Battle Green in 2009, we were not doing something novel that had never been done before. To the contrary, we were following in the footsteps of men of the Founding generation who had also stood on Lexington Battle Green in 1798 to renew their oaths. Men of the First Brigade of the Third Division, Militia of Massachusetts – some who had fought in the battle back in 1775, along with their sons who now served in the militia – stood on Lexington Battle Green in formation and renewed their oaths, and then sent a proclamation to President John Adams, describing what they had done, and why. It is President Adams’ formal, written response that we quote on the back of our green “Lexington” shirt:
Oaths in this country are as yet universally considered as sacred obligations. That which you have taken and so solemnly repeated on that venerable spot, is an ample pledge of your sincerity and devotion to your country and its government. – President John Adams
The men of the Militia of Massachusetts had felt compelled to gather on the Battle Green and renew their oaths in a time of crisis in America, during the Quis-War with France, when many Americans were very divided politically, and passions were high. The men considered it essential that in that time of crisis they should come together and make it clear that their loyalty was first, and foremost, to the Constitution they swore to defend. And it should be noted that similar oath renewal ceremonies were conducted in multiple states, and by both Federalists and by Jeffersonian Republicans. Americans of both political parties renewed their oaths.
So, when we stood on Lexington Battle Green on April 19, 2009, to renew our oaths, we were merely honoring our forefathers and walking almost directly in their footsteps. And from that day forward we have conducted similar oath renewal ceremonies wherever we gather, as Oath Keepers.
It came as no surprise (a sad sign of the times) that immediately after our muster on April 19, 2009, we were viciously attacked by the radical left, and in particular by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Apparently, current serving and retired police and military are not supposed to renew their commitment to defend the Constitution, and specify certain things we will not do if ordered. The radical left considers that dangerous. Instead, according to them, we who are still serving have a duty to “just follow orders” and do whatever we are told to do. And the very existence of this organization, devoted to sincere keeping of oaths, and the improvement of constitutional knowledge among the current serving and veterans, is considered “dangerous” by the Marxists on the far left. So be it. We expected it.
But oddly enough, we have also at times been criticized by people on the Right for conducting oath renewal ceremonies, with some of them asserting we are asking people to take some additional oath, to Oath Keepers, or that we are being foolishly redundant. I have heard some say “I already took the oath, so why are they taking it all over again?” They are, of course, free to do as they please, but they display their ignorance of our own history when they condemn us for doing exactly the same thing the Founding Generation and their sons did back in 1798. Again, a sad sign of the times.
I invite you to join me on the Battle Green, on April 19, 2013, and renew your oath on that venerable spot, and by doing so, help revive and expand, and make it once again true, that fundamental requirement that “Oaths in this country are as yet universally considered as sacred obligations.“ We know that among the political class in this country, that is certainly not the case, but we can make it so among the warrior class – among our brothers-in-arms. And by doing so, we can change history. Let us lead by example.
And let us also revive the tradition of showing honor and respect to our war heroes of 1775, by making April 19 a day of remembrance and celebration for their having the courage and sense of duty to take up arms, in resistance, against tyranny. Let us honor them. April 19 – Patriots Day – SHOULD be celebrated across the land, just as solemnly and energetically as we celebrate Veterans Day or Independence Day. Let us make it so.
If you cannot join us, this April 19, on Lexington Battle Green or at the following rally by Massachusetts, then hold a gathering of remembrance and celebration wherever you are this April 19. Hold a rally if you can. But even if it is just you and a few friends at the shooting range, or having beers in a pub, take a moment to remember the men who stood their ground and only fired when fired upon, and their brothers who turned the tide at Concord Bridge, and then chased the bloody Regulars back to Boston, with their tails between their legs. Say a toast to them, give them a cheer, and then pledge to each other your mutual commitment to make sure that all their sacrifice was not in vain, and that you will do your part to keep alive the Sacred Fire of Liberty.
As you know, this nation is now following almost exactly in the same footsteps our Forefathers experienced in the lead-up to the American Revolution. Like them, we have suffered a long train of abuses, and our backs have been pushed up against the wall. Let us look for strength and courage by remembering their example, and by seeing clearly how we are standing in an unbroken line of defenders of liberty, that began at Lexington and Concord, and stretches through history to us here, today.
It is our watch now. Let us pray to God for the fortitude to do as they did, to defend home and liberty, at all costs, when our moment comes.
For the Republic!
Stewart Rhodes
Founder of Oath Keepers
ANNOUNCEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS OATH KEEPERS RALLY ON APRIL 19, 2013, from 4pm to 7pm
Oath Keepers
Massachusetts Chapter
Press release: For Immediate Release
Contact: Bryan Doe 413-348-7190
Date/Time: Friday, April 19th 3 – 7 PM
Location: West Springfield Town Common, West Springfield, Massachusetts
Local group announces Rally to Support Second Amendment
A local group has organized a rally in support of the Second Amendment. The Massachusetts Chapter of Oath Keepers will hold a rally on the West Springfield Town Common on Friday, April 19th from 3 to 7 pm. This event is free and open to the public.
The rally is being held in reaction to hastily passed and poorly written laws and proposals proven to have no effect on criminals and public safety, infringe on the Second Amendment, and turn law-abiding citizens into criminals, according to the event organizers.
For more information, contact
Bryan Doe
Oath Keepers
Massachusetts Chapter
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