"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."
Once, while watching a comedian on Comedy Central, (one of my favorite pastimes) I heard one of the best lines on the Second Amendment ever. The young comedian said he was a foreigner and while studying up on The Amendments to the Constitution he became confused about the first two. He asked this question of the American audience, " The First Amendment is the right to say anything you want and the Second Amendment is the right to have guns, right? Well it seems to me if you got a gun....can't you say anything you want?" All good humor has an element of truth in it, and that is a great example. I sincerely believe without the threat of revolt, freedom of speech will not exist long.
I openly admit, I'm bias on this subject. I own guns and I hunt most anything that the State of Michigan allows, I make no apologies. Twice in my life I've had to use a gun to protect myself, although I've yet to have to fire it in self defense. While growing up in a shady neighborhood I've found one thing to be utterly self-evident; criminals don't care about gun laws, plain and simple. With that out of the way, lets take a good look at the debate surrounding my second favorite Amendment.
If there is one thing in the Constitution I wish the Founding Fathers could have made clearer, it's the phrase "a well-regulated militia". That phrase has been debated endlessly. On one side are the people who believe that a well regulated militia meant a state could keep a government controlled militia such as the Nation Guard, to protect itself from excessive control by the Federal Government and to assist in emergencies. They believe that right does not extend to individuals. On the other side are the people who believe that in order to have a well regulated militia, the people themselves need to have arms to protect themselves individually. That they would rise up independent of any government intervention against either the State or Federal Government if need be.
And the argument doesn't end there. One side believes that you have the right to protect your family and belongings. The other believes the government should do that for you through police. One side believes that hunting with a gun is an American tradition and is absolutely necessary for the regulation of wildlife. The other side believes in alternative means to control wildlife populations, that frankly, I can't even name because none of them have been shown to work. (Except maybe hitting them with your car.)
When it comes to arguments about what our Founding Fathers intended, I look at what they themselves tried to do. Since The Bill of Rights was enacted in 1791, I could find no example of any of the Founding Fathers in any way trying to disarm the American people who all owned guns. They formed no force, they passed no laws, they took not one gun through the government. If their intent was for the individual to not have guns, why did they do nothing to enforce it? Honestly, it's ridiculous to assume they would want to disarm people who depended on guns for food and who had just used them to free themselves from an overbearing and controlling government that wouldn't even allow them to manufacture them for themselves. It's that simple.
Now, you could make the argument that the Founding Fathers could not have envisioned the future as it is today. That's at least rational. Guns come in forms that would have slaughtered Washington's armies in a day. Fully -automatic machine guns can kick out hundreds of rounds in the time it would take you to reload a muzzle loader. Frankly, I don't find it necessary for your average American to own a fully automatic weapon, an anti-aircraft gun, or an RPG. Let's keep it real here folks. I can enjoy shooting, hunting, and the safety of my own home protection without getting ridiculous. As far as rising up against my government if need be (and don't think it couldn't happen here), I think we could do it with reasonable weapons. After all, a lot of insurgencies seem to be doing a fair job with a lot less. If not, we could always buy them from Russia or China or God only knows who else.
In conclusion, let me say this. Two things that I believe will always be in America in some form are guns and abortion. The reason is simple, people equate them with freedom. The freedom to control your body or the freedom to defend yourself is really the same thing in the end, but we also have to except that both should be regulated so that we still have freedom without being ridiculous. Ten-year olds should not be getting abortions without their parents knowledge and ten-year olds should not be carrying handguns to school. I know that people on the left and right have far different ideas about where the boundaries should lie, but that's the great thing about America. We always seem to meet in the middle. I'll except some regulation as long as I always have a gun, but as far as whether the Second Amendment is for the individual or for government-controlled groups....It's as individual as my freedom. H.C.
I openly admit, I'm bias on this subject. I own guns and I hunt most anything that the State of Michigan allows, I make no apologies. Twice in my life I've had to use a gun to protect myself, although I've yet to have to fire it in self defense. While growing up in a shady neighborhood I've found one thing to be utterly self-evident; criminals don't care about gun laws, plain and simple. With that out of the way, lets take a good look at the debate surrounding my second favorite Amendment.
If there is one thing in the Constitution I wish the Founding Fathers could have made clearer, it's the phrase "a well-regulated militia". That phrase has been debated endlessly. On one side are the people who believe that a well regulated militia meant a state could keep a government controlled militia such as the Nation Guard, to protect itself from excessive control by the Federal Government and to assist in emergencies. They believe that right does not extend to individuals. On the other side are the people who believe that in order to have a well regulated militia, the people themselves need to have arms to protect themselves individually. That they would rise up independent of any government intervention against either the State or Federal Government if need be.
And the argument doesn't end there. One side believes that you have the right to protect your family and belongings. The other believes the government should do that for you through police. One side believes that hunting with a gun is an American tradition and is absolutely necessary for the regulation of wildlife. The other side believes in alternative means to control wildlife populations, that frankly, I can't even name because none of them have been shown to work. (Except maybe hitting them with your car.)
When it comes to arguments about what our Founding Fathers intended, I look at what they themselves tried to do. Since The Bill of Rights was enacted in 1791, I could find no example of any of the Founding Fathers in any way trying to disarm the American people who all owned guns. They formed no force, they passed no laws, they took not one gun through the government. If their intent was for the individual to not have guns, why did they do nothing to enforce it? Honestly, it's ridiculous to assume they would want to disarm people who depended on guns for food and who had just used them to free themselves from an overbearing and controlling government that wouldn't even allow them to manufacture them for themselves. It's that simple.
Now, you could make the argument that the Founding Fathers could not have envisioned the future as it is today. That's at least rational. Guns come in forms that would have slaughtered Washington's armies in a day. Fully -automatic machine guns can kick out hundreds of rounds in the time it would take you to reload a muzzle loader. Frankly, I don't find it necessary for your average American to own a fully automatic weapon, an anti-aircraft gun, or an RPG. Let's keep it real here folks. I can enjoy shooting, hunting, and the safety of my own home protection without getting ridiculous. As far as rising up against my government if need be (and don't think it couldn't happen here), I think we could do it with reasonable weapons. After all, a lot of insurgencies seem to be doing a fair job with a lot less. If not, we could always buy them from Russia or China or God only knows who else.
In conclusion, let me say this. Two things that I believe will always be in America in some form are guns and abortion. The reason is simple, people equate them with freedom. The freedom to control your body or the freedom to defend yourself is really the same thing in the end, but we also have to except that both should be regulated so that we still have freedom without being ridiculous. Ten-year olds should not be getting abortions without their parents knowledge and ten-year olds should not be carrying handguns to school. I know that people on the left and right have far different ideas about where the boundaries should lie, but that's the great thing about America. We always seem to meet in the middle. I'll except some regulation as long as I always have a gun, but as far as whether the Second Amendment is for the individual or for government-controlled groups....It's as individual as my freedom. H.C.
3 comments:
H.C.
Me,being a huge fan of the 2nd Amendment and the rest of the 9 of the famous "Bill of Rights' section of the good ol U.S. Constitution agree with all which your posting stated. I also wish to point your readers an excellent book which may help those "would be" defenders of the Right to Keep and Bear arms. The book is entitled THE SECOND AMENDMENT PRIMER by Les Adams .This book is pocket sized and it is available from Palladium Press of Birmingham , Alabama. I have seen this book advertised in magazines published by the National Rifle Association ( NRA) (and yes ,dear liberal readers,I am a member of this organization along with three other pro-gun rights groups).
This book has a great overview of the famous and not so famous writers,thinkers and political leaders over the past 800 years who have helped shape this republic and who helped to frame those rights we cherish . The Second Admendment has quotes,historical references and the thoughts of very diverse people. From the most ofen quoted authors that are typically cited in regards to this right,to the more surprizing quotes from leaders like Ghandi . Yes,libs,Ghandi! Hell,this book even has a quote from that infamous lawyer of OJ Simpson trial fame ,Alan Dershowitz (to read what he has to say,buy the book)
And before any liberal chimes in about the "other rights in the Bill of Rights",let me inform you I am a dues paying member of the ACLU as well. See,the way I see it,we are only given 10 ,and unlike the 10 rules we have no problem breaking ( I am refering to the Commandments,in case you missed it) I think we all should be very careful of what we permit to happen to Bill of Rights. We will never be given a second chance to found another grand expermiment such as this.
Love your blog H.C. !
Hey John,
Well stated. I can't add a thing. Thanks for the props.
H.C. -
I appreciate your opinions. I'm a bit of a hippie conservative myself, although I'd never labeled myself that way. I have not yet read The Second Amendment Primer, however have just purchased Les Adam's American Freedoms Primer, and look forward to starting there. I'm an Endowment Member of the NRA, and the 2nd Amendment is very dear to me, as a veteran, and as the daughter of a veteran. It was refreshing to read your pro-freedom view. Choice is choice. I've never understood the hypocrisy that plagues the left and right on that issue.
Anyway, just wanted to send kudos and say THANKS for sharing your sane, freedom-loving perspective!
-Crusade
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