Pro Gun and Anti-gun groups have disagreed about the founding father’s intent when writing the Second Amendment to the Constitution for far too long. It has been misinterpreted more than any other part of the Bill of Rights. The meaning is actually quite clear. All one has to do is take a step back and use common sense, the same sense that was used by the authors. The Second Amendment as we know it was ratified in 1791 and reads “A well documented militia, Being necessary to the security of a free state, The right of the people to keep and bear arms, Shall not be infringed”. Now, when an opponent of our constitutional freedom argues that gun ownership was intended for the military only, they point to the word “militia”. By definition that is a civilian population with arms and NOT a military service. If they read further to the Fifth Amendment (which is clumsily regarded as only pertaining to one’s right to refuse self-incrimination) they would see that the military is referred to as “land or naval forces” a distinct difference to a militia.
Dissecting the Second Amendment further, it states “The right of the people to keep and bear arms, Shall not be infringed”. Again, “The right of the PEOPLE”, not the militia and not land or naval forces. It is a carefully worded and punctuated statement. And while a militia is made up of people, it never says that the right of the militia to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
Now this brings us to a point that sets the Second Amendment apart from other Amendments and is rarely mentioned. The framers of the document did not make a proclamation that bestows permission ! Your right to keep and bear arms already existed by being a human and what they ARE saying is that the right that you already have shall not be INFRINGED. They thought so highly of personal gun ownership that they created an Amendment guaranteeing that it would not be infringed upon. Drop that knowledge on an anti-gun activist, or should I call them “Anti-Human Rights Advocates”?
When The United States Constitution was a proposed in 1787, there were those that didn’t think that The Bill of Rights should be added, but they soon realized that absolute government power had to be kept in check by ensuring that the rights of it’s people remain at the forefront. When an elected official takes an oath of office they swear to uphold and defend The Constitution of The United States. Any and all legislation degrading our Second Amendment is therefore Unconstitutional and THAT should be remembered when casting your vote.
While historically the authors of the Constitution may not have been perfect, it is PERFECTLY clear what our Constitution means ! And for those that want to ignore or change history, I’d like to quote Thomas Sowell, American historian, social theorist, economist, and Senior Fellow at Stanford University when he said “History is what happened, Not what we wished had happened”. The importance of this document should never be taken lightly. Too many have paid the price for you to have this freedom.