evidence: Fact check: George Washington didn't say firearms are 'next in importance' to Constitution [...] But it's clear what he didn't say — and that "firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself" as the citizenry's "liberty, teeth, and keystone" is among those false quotes. [...] Based on our research, the claim that George Washington said "firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself" is FALSE. There is no record that he said that, according to the library at Mount Vernon.