“I said that he had no right to take a man’s rifle, that he had no right to enter a man’s house, except he had a search warrant, or to take a rifle there unless it was stolen"

Taken before the Congressional Committee: Col. John A. Perry: “I said that he had no right to take a man’s rifle, that he had no right to enter a man’s house, except he had a search warrant, or to take a rifle there unless it was stolen . . . my reply was that if any man entered my house to take my rifle I had a perfect right to shoot him and he had no redress”, July 25, 1856

One of the main pertinent quotations from the above follows:

    "I said that he had no right to take a man’s rifle, that he had no right to enter a man’s house, except he had a search warrant or to take a rifle there unless it was stolen and described in his search warrant; he agreed to all this: I then told him I had been asked in council by the citizens of Lawrence my legal opinion of his right to take men’s rifles, and my reply was that if any man entered my house to take my rifle I had a perfect right to shoot him and he had no redress, even though it was Mr. [U.S. Marshal] Donaldson himself; I asked him if that was so; he laughed and said ‘ Yes.” Some one spoke up and said ”That’s cool;” I told the [U.S.] Marshal that I had given my opinion and my advice, and I wanted to know if I was right; he said I was..."--Col. John A. Perry, testimony taken before the [U.S.] Congressional Committee, June 9, 1856. [New-York Daily Tribune, New-York, Friday, July 25, 1856. Vol. XVI.......No. 4,763. Pg. 6]