A social media meme claims one of the country’s Founding Fathers was a friend to gun rights activists. You may have seen it on your Facebook feeds. It claims George Washington said:

    “When government takes away citizens’ right to bear arms it becomes citizens’ duty to take away government’s right to govern.”

PolitiFact rated the claim for its truthfulness, and reporter Joshua Gillin said it rates FALSE. According to Gillin, it’s nearly impossible to prove.

“We talked to a bunch of historical experts about this and there's really no record of George Washington saying anything like this,” Gillin said.

There is an indication that Washington was in favor of armed militias. In Washington’s first State of the Union address, on Jan. 8, 1790, he said, “A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined.”

Experts agree that the former president was referring to a trained militia to defend the country, not necessarily armed citizens.

In fact, during the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794, when rebels in Pennsylvania rose up to fight a new tax on whiskey, a historian notes evidence that Washington was worried about their potential success and its effect on the central government.

Because there’s no proof linking Washington to the quote in the social media meme, or any historical evidence that points to Washington’s outright support of arming citizens, PolitiFact rated the claim FALSE.

SOURCES: GEORGE WASHINGTON AND THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS