“Give me liberty or give me…security?”

“Patrick Henry did not say, ‘Give me liberty or give me security.’ He said, ‘Give me liberty or give me death’.”

So said U.S. Congressmen Trent Kelly Monday night at the Union County Courthouse.

Kelly, a Republican lawyer and a long-serving U.S. Army officer, represents Mississippi’s First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

He said, “Americans are too concerned about safety. We cannot give up our rights for security.” Kelly said basic rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution — the right of free speech, the right to keep and bear arms, etc. — must not be sacrificed. “If we give up our rights, we will never get them back,” he warned.

Kelly spoke during the August 22nd meeting of the Union County Republican Women’s Club. He is running for his first full term in Congress. He was elected last year to serve most of the term of former Congressman Alan Nunnelee, who died just a few weeks after starting his third term.

Kelly  is a U.S. Army colonel and has served three combat tours in the middle east.

Spencer Ritchie, executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party

Spencer Ritchie, executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party, also addressed  the 40 – 45 people gathered in the circuit court room. Ritchie stressed the importance of voting for Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president. Ritchie became executive director of the state Republican party last year.

Two candidates for seats on the Mississippi Supreme Court attended the meeting, but did not  make speeches. They were John Brady, a Columbus attorney, and Bobby Chamberlin, a circuit court judge from Desoto County.

Doc Holliday and Daniel Sparks, who were both candidates in last year’s special congressional election, were present at the Monday night meeting.