“It’s the Bill of Rights, not the Bill of Needs” (or “It’s a Bill of Rights, not a Bill of Needs”) is a saying that has been printed on many images. The saying usually refers to Second Amendment gun rights. Some state governments try to restrict rights and want to know why an applicant needs a gun, but gun rights advocates point out that having a gun is a right (and “need” is not necessary to explain).
   
“Tell the Congressman that you are sick and tired of being told to justify your ‘need’ to own this and that. Remind him that in America we have a ‘Bill of Rights,’ not a bill of ‘needs’” was a letter by Emma Rohrback printed in the Feather River Bulletin (Quincy, CA) on March 16, 1994. “You can tell your Congressman that you are sick and tired of being told to justify your ‘need’ to own this or that. Remind your Congressman that in America we have a ‘Bill of Rights,’ not a ‘Bill of needs’” was an advertisement by Citizens Against Brady Bill in the Pensacola (FL) News Journal on April 1, 1994. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was passed in November 1993 and mandated federal background checks on firearm purchasers in the United States.
     
“It’s the Bill of Rights… not the Bill of Needs” was posted on Twitter by Whir Chunk on September 25, 2012. ” tonight @marklevinshow said it best: it’s the bill of rights, not the bill of needs” was posted on Twitter by Nachman Mostofsky on December 18, 2012. “IT’S THE BILL OF RIGHTS, NOT THE BILL OF NEEDS” (shown on an image0 was posted on Twitter by NRA on December 15, 2021.
   
“Why does anyone need an AR-15 rifle?” is a related saying.
   
       
Wikipedia: United States Bill of Rights 
The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed following the often bitter 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution and written to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists, the Bill of Rights amendments add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on the government’s power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the states or the people.
   
Newspapers.com
16 March 1994, Feather River Bulletin (Quincy, CA), “Letters to the Editor,” pg. 8B, col. 6:
Tell the Congressman that you are sick and tired of being told to justify your “need” to own this and that. Remind him that in America we have a “Bill of Rights,” not a bill of “needs.”
(...)
Emma Rohrback
Quincy
     
Newspapers.com
1 April 1994, Pensacola (FL) News Journal, pg. 5E, col. 3 ad:
GUN OWNERS BEWARE!
(...)
You can tell your Congressman that you are sick and tired of being told to justify your “need” to own this or that.
 
Remind your Congressman that in America we have a “Bill of Rights,” not a “Bill of needs.”
(...)
Paid for by Citizens Against Brady Bill
 
Newspapers.com
20 April 1994, Tensas Gazette (St. Joseph, LA), “Editor’s Letters,” pg. 4, col. 3:
You can tell your Congressman that you are sick and tired of being told to justify your “need” to own this or that. Remind your Congressman that in America we have a “Bill of Rights”, not a “Bill of Needs.”
(...)
Vic Mahoney, Jr.
 
19 March 1997, Daily Press (Newport News, VA), “Letters to the Editor,” pg. A14:
If you believe we have “outgrown” that part of the Constitution, then let us change it, as we did with slavery, women’s suffrage and prohibition. But to simply ignore it, or to pretend the framers of our Constitution did not mean what they said, is dangerous. It is our Bill of Rights, not a Bill of Needs or Bill of Privileges.
Ed Monk
Hampton
 
Google Groups: boulder.general
My letter to Colorado Governor Romer on the concealed weapons bill
Melissa Rhiannon Brookstone
Apr 20, 1997, 3:00:00 AM
(...)
I didn’t say we needed them. Need has nothing to do with civil rights. It’s a Bill Of Rights not a bill of needs. We have a right to them and that right should not be infringed if people choose to exercise it.
         
Twitter
L (Luis) Figueroa
@Luigi1492
Top Dog’s words of wisdom:“Its the Bill of Rights and not the Bill of Needs”
7:49 PM · Jul 18, 2009·Twitter Web Client
   
Twitter
Josh Bickford
@joshbickford
Ours is a bill of RIGHTS, not a bill of NEEDS.
1:54 AM · Jul 21, 2010·Twitter Web Client
 
Twitter
Robert Schaefer
@ReverendLowell
Replying to @Jchawes
@Jchawes @advocate1995 Because it’s “the Bill of Rights”; not “The Bill of Needs.”.
4:13 AM · Jul 22, 2012·Twitter Web Client
   
Twitter
Whir Chunk
@WhirChunk
“It’s the Bill of Rights… not the Bill of Needs”
5:10 PM · Sep 25, 2012·Twitter for iPhone
   
Twitter
Nachman Mostofsky
@Mostofsky
Replying to @StephenGutowski
@collegepolitico tonight @marklevinshow said it best: it’s the bill of rights, not the bill of needs
8:49 PM · Dec 18, 2012·Slices for Android
     
Twitter
Leslie Banionis
@LeslieBanionis
It’s the Bill of Rights
(not the bill of needs)
Celebrate Gun Appreciation Day
Saturday, January 19th
#2ndAmd #NRA
(The saying is shown on an image.—ed.)
1:15 PM · Jan 9, 2013 from Washington, USA·Twitter for iPhone
 
Twitter
Todd Staples
@Todd_Staples
Best sign of the day: It’s the Bill of Rights not the Bill of Needs! #tcot #2ndAmendment
2:55 PM · Apr 18, 2013·Twitter for iPhone
 
Daily Caller
Mark Levin at the NRA: ‘It’s not a bill of needs — it’s a bill of rights. The 2nd Amendment is included’
JEFF POOR
MEDIA REPORTER
May 04, 2013
11:33 AM ET
At the National Rifle Association Convention in Houston on Friday, conservative talker Mark Levin told attendees that the Bill or Rights were “under attack” from progressives in Washington, D.C.
 
“I hear it often said, ‘You don’t this type of firearm,’ ‘You don’t need this amount of ammunition,’” he said. “Well, wait a minute — who gets to decide that? We get to decide that. It’s not a bill of needs — it’s a bill of rights. The Second Amendment is included. As a matter of fact, there would be no Constitution but for the Bill of Rights.”
         
CBS 3 (Philadelphia, PA)
It’s The Bill Of Rights, Not The Bill Of Needs
By Rich Zeoli
February 14, 2014 at 10:12 am Filed Under:Bill of Rights, Constitution, Firearms, gun control, guns, NJ, Rich Zeoli, USA, Weapons, WPHT
(...)
The 2nd Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights, not the bill of needs, yet the State of New Jersey requires you to demonstrate a “need” before you are legally allowed to carry a firearm in public.
(...)
The idea of having to prove to the government a justifiable “need” to exercise what is a constitutional “right” is counter to everything the founders imagined when they crafted the Bill of Rights. These rights are not given to us by government. They are inherent rights of “We, the People,” and our protection from government.
     
Twitter
Cloyd Rivers
@CloydRivers
There’s a reason it’s called the Bill of Rights, not the Bill of Needs.
7:30 PM · Mar 25, 2021·Hootsuite Inc.
 
Twitter
Curt (Libertarian)
@checkmatestate
I don’t need to need a gun to have a right to buy a gun.
It’s the Bill of Rights. Not the Bill of Needs.
1:40 PM · Jul 26, 2021·Twitter for iPhone
 
Twitter
NRA
@NRA
Today marks 230 years since the Bill of Rights was ratified & our freedoms were secured.
Those who hate everything that makes this country great have tried to destroy those freedoms ever since. NRA members stand in their way.
We’ll NEVER stop fighting. Happy Bill of Rights Day!
(“IT’S THE BILL OF RIGHTS, NOT THE BILL OF NEEDS” is shown on an image.—ed.)
1:04 PM · Dec 15, 2021·Twitter for iPhone