# Senator Palpatine’s Speech on “Responsible Disarmament and a Safe Society”  
*As delivered before the Galactic Council of Earthly Affairs, Earth*

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My esteemed colleagues, and citizens of this proud Republic…

There comes a time in every civilization when it must make a difficult, but necessary, choice.

The choice between ungoverned chaos… and lasting peace.  
Between the illusion of personal power… and the security of collective order.

We stand now at such a moment.

There are those who argue that every citizen must be armed — that to carry instruments of war is to be free.

But I ask you: **Is that freedom? Or is it fear — masquerading as strength?**

A society where every man is judge, jury, and executioner… is no society at all.  
It is anarchy — romanticized by radicals, exploited by criminals.

The idea that power must be distributed among the many — indiscriminately, without oversight — is not liberty.  
It is **recklessness**.

You do not give thermal detonators to children and call it empowerment.  
You do not hand out blasters in temples and expect serenity.

No. You centralize. You organize. You **trust your institutions**.

I have heard the cries of those who resist even the slightest measure of restraint.  
They cloak their selfishness in noble words — “rights,” they say. “Resistance.” “Tyranny.”

But what they truly fear… is **unity**.  
They fear that without their weapons, they are ordinary. Accountable. Equal.

They fear the day when their violence is no longer a trump card.

Let me be clear: **Weapons are the tools of war.**  
And if we are ever to have peace — lasting peace — then the instruments of war must be in the hands of those trained to wield them.  
Not scattered among the anxious, the angry, and the unstable.

**A well-governed people need not be armed. They need only be protected.**

And protected, you shall be.

We will build a system — strong, elegant, and enduring.  
A galaxy free of fear.  
Free of crime.  
Free of chaos.

And to those who say, “But what if the government turns against us?” I ask:

**What kind of government fears its own people?**  
The kind you elect? The kind you trust? The kind *I* represent?

No, my friends. These fantasies of resistance are relics of a violent past.  
What we need now… is order.

Let us lay down our weapons — not as a sign of submission — but of confidence. Of maturity. Of hope.

Let us entrust our safety not to scattered militias, but to a unified, accountable authority.  
A central power — tempered by wisdom, not passion.

For in unity, there is strength.  
And in strength… there is peace.

So I say to you:

Let us choose peace. Let us choose progress.

Let us lay aside the tools of war… and embrace the tools of governance.

**And may order be with us. Always.**