By DR. LARRY MOSES
No one asked me but… The Second Amendment is short and to the point. “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.”
When this amendment was included in the Bill of Rights the Founding Fathers had just completed a war to secure freedom for a new nation. They realized that the war was won by the regular citizens of the state organized into militia units; as opposed to a large standing army as was the practice of the nations of Europe. Those citizens for the most part supplied their own arms and it was felt that if this nation were to remain free it would be up to a citizen army to protect this freedom from enemies, both from within and without its borders.
In fact, the Constitution is emphatic in its desire there never be a large standing army within the United States (See Article I). The wish was complied with until after WWII. These early statesman saw the threat of larger nations as well as from ambitious citizens who might wish to change the status of the fledgling country.
Both of these threats were evidenced early in the formation of our country. Aaron Burr’s attempt to establish an independent country, while it never progressed much beyond the planning stage, was just such an internal threat. The War of 1812 had the new United States again fighting for its life with England. The military that was counted on to win the War of 1812 was made up of militia volunteers with their own arms.
Is there any doubt that if outside invaders were to hit the shores of America today that all Americans would be to arms, and fortunately many of our citizens still own a gun of some kind. It seems once you get off the two coastlines of America the citizens are more likely to own, and know how to use, a gun.
The militia issue is only the first clause of the Amendment. Those who wish to limit the ownership of firearms have tried to use this clause as the limiting factor. In an attempt to limit the holding of arms, they equate the National Guard and the Reserves to the Militia. Both of these groups are part of the standing army that our founders were quite emphatic about when they stated the standing army should be minimal.
The Militia is not a bunch of self-appointed yahoos running around Upper Michigan in war surplus uniforms with self-appointed rank. Those individuals who recently appeared at Bundy’s ranch were not militia they were armed irate citizens. The Militia was, and is, every able-bodied American citizen who will provide his/her own arms and come together to oppose any foes of this country. This Militia will become well regulated when it is formed into recognizable military units under a cadre from the standing army and local leaders.
The rest of the Second Amendment states very clearly: the right of the people to keep and bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED. Any law passed to regulate the ownership and carrying of a weapon is a violation of the Constitution. If we are worried about criminals carrying weapons we surely can pass laws to stop that, but we must first strip them of their citizenship.
This is not as radical a statement as it first appears. A felon is stripped of his Constitutional Right to vote and is not allowed to be in possession of a gun; we as a society have said if you commit certain crimes, you are no longer eligible to be protected by some facets of the Constitution. We as a society can take Constitutional Rights from a citizen but when we do, we should surely not pretend we have not done so.
I believe only the state of Vermont allows a citizen to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. Some states do not even allow their citizens to own a handgun, which surely is a violation of the Second Amendment unless one does not define a handgun as a type of arm.
What part of “shall not infringe” do we not understand? You may argue that as written the Second Amendment is not a good idea and should be changed, that is why the Founding Fathers included an amendment process in the Constitution.
No one asked me but… Did you ever wonder why America is bankrupt? Here are some examples that may help explain it.
A government investigator reported that nearly 1,300 prisoners illegally claimed more than $9 million in tax credits for homebuyers despite being locked up when they claimed they bought a home. Over 240 of the inmates are serving life sentences.
A spokesperson for the IRS said, “The IRS will follow up on every instance of an improper prisoner payment and take swift and appropriate enforcement actions.”
J. Russell George, the Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration, reported more than 14,100 taxpayers wrongly received at least $26.7 million in tax credits that were meant to boost the nation’s slumping housing markets. You can only hope so. The Inspector General’s report estimates that 2,555 taxpayers wrongly received $17.6 million in tax credits for homes that were bought before the credit was enacted. Investigators also found 87 IRS employees who may have improperly claimed the credit, though the review was ongoing.
When NASA started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat this problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion dollars developing a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside-down, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300 Celsius. The Russians solved this problem by issuing each cosmonaut a pencil. Maybe if we had used pencils our space program would still be in operation and we would not be paying the Russians 70 million dollars to transport our astronauts to the space station.
Thought of week… A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained in arms, is the best most natural defense of a free country.
– James Madison
