Gen. Gage’s broken promise to return surrendered firearms in 1775 Boston—after disarming citizens under the guise of temporary safekeeping—exemplifies how British efforts to confiscate colonial weapons galvanized American resistance and helped establish the right to keep and bear arms as a foundational liberty.

Gen. Gage’s broken promise to return surrendered firearms in 1775 Boston—after disarming citizens under the guise of temporary safekeeping—exemplifies how British efforts to confiscate colonial weapons galvanized American resistance and helped establish the right to keep and bear arms as a foundational liberty.