evidence: (CNN) -- Thomas Jefferson may not have penned the Second Amendment, but the paradoxical Founding Father comes galloping into the present whenever there's a gun debate. Quotes attributed to him and tied to the right to bear arms litter the social sphere. But how did a man 200-plus years past his prime become today's gun-debate darling? [...] For the gun rights advocates who love this line, the good news is that Jefferson did quote it from someone else. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation's website, Monticello.org, has an entire section featuring "spurious" quotations attributed to Jefferson, including this one. It's a passage from Italian philosopher Cesare Beccaria's "Essay on Crimes and Punishments." [...] In the meantime, let's get these gun laws settled right quick. This quote by Thomas Jefferson is the best. #Seriously pic.twitter.com/PLL6OqAOaJ — Kristy Lynn (@HeartSpring17) April 15, 2013 "The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it."