from Amazon
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Does anyone seriously think that the 2nd Amendment only applies to people in a militia?
Non-baseball thread.
In light of the recent “Heller” decision by the US Supreme Court:
The second Amendment reads:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Opponents of the “universal and general right for ordinary citizens to keep and bear arms” point of view point to the clause “A well-regulated militia” and suggest that it means, “Only in the context of an actual militia (a bona fide army) does this right apply.”
That is ridiculous.
Yes, it is true that at the time the Bill of Rights were formulated and at the time of the original English Common Law (from which this right originated), ordinary citizens belonged to militias, etc. and the ultimate protest against a tyrannical government was to take up arms and overthrow it. And yes, it is true that this no longer applies from a practical standpoint today (although some people will argue that that is still a viable option - armed rebellion - and that it NEEDS to be a viable option), more or less, however…
There are many things in the US (and state) Constitution that are more or less antiquated, yet it is important that we don’t loosely interpret them as we see fit. That is exactly what the framers did NOT want, which is why they wrote the darn document, and especially the Bill of Rights, in the first place!
Most importantly, if there is anything in the Constitution that we don’t like or we don’t think applies anymore, we have the ability to change or remove it. Not by a judge or by Congress, but by the two methods outlined in the Constitution itself. That is our failsafe, and it should be our only failsafe.
If the people don’t want the Second Amendment to apply to ordinary citizens, they are free to change it. Until then, the whole “militia” thing it is an excuse, and a poor one at that, for people who simply don’t like guns. The reason that the “militia” clause was put in there in the first place is obvious. It is to emphasize WHY the right to keep and bear arms was so important in those times.
All that being said, let me make one thing clear. I hate guns. I abhor them. But, until the 2nd Amendment is changed or repealed, I will protect your right to own one.