Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Another Act, the Assise of Arms 1181, forbids Jewish people from owning armour. The only statute which is being partially repealed by this Bill is the Bill of Rights of 1688. It is interesting that there was a Bill of Rights in 1688. Although it discriminated against particular religions, the principle underlying it was fair. Nowadays we have various UN declarations on rights and years of this and that, and the year to be of something else. The Bill of Rights contained many provisions, but it granted a right to bear arms to Protestants but not to members of any other religion — they might go "bang-bang" in the middle of the night. What about the Molly Maguires or Seán O'Farrell and all those people who rose up in rebellion? They were not allowed to have arms.