To the editor:

In the Oct. 20, 2021 edition of The Brown County Democrat an ad appeared containing some misinformation that should be corrected.

The ad contained a quote that it attributed to Thomas Jefferson: “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”

The first sentence was in Jefferson’s first draft of the Virginia Constitution. His subsequent drafts read: “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms [within his own lands or tenements].” Ultimately that language was not included.

The second sentence contained in the ad (“The strongest reason ….”) is entirely absent from Jefferson’s writings. Its first known appearance in print was in a newspaper article written by Orlando Sentinel newspaper columnist Charley Reese. The column was published on June 22, 1989. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826.

Kurt A. Young, Brown County