An article written by Reese for the '' Orlando Sentinel '' on March 7 , 1995 under the title " Looking For Someone To Blame ? Congress Is Good Place To Start " was widely read and distributed in modified form via e-mail during the 2008 United States presidential campaign under the title " The 545 People Responsible for America 's Woes " . The article commonly forwarded in 2008 was slightly modified from the 1980s version , substituting Nancy Pelosi for Tip O'Neil and adding a reference to Iraq . It is not clear if the modifications were made by Reese , as the e-mail claimed . Quote from the original 1985 article : One hundred senators , 435 congressmen , one president and nine Supreme Court justices – 545 human beings out of the 235 million – are directly , legally , morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country . Reese had written a similar article in 1983 . In that version , he listed 546 people , including Vice President George H. W. Bush In 1989 , Reese published a pro-second amendment column for the '' Orlando Sentinel '' in which he quoted Thomas Jefferson as having said , " 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 . " This quote gained widespread popularity via social media during the 2012-2013 gun control debate after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting . However , Monticello has stated that no such evidence exists to support that Thomas Jefferson ever made this statement and credits Reese as the originator of this quote
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting
Charley Reese