Friday, June 27, 2008

Supreme Court and American gun ownership

The Supreme Court, or at least 5 of the 9 justices, upheld the second amendment to the U.S.A. Constitution, which 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."

Those who want to restrict American access to hand guns read the above amendment as stating guns are only necessary for a "well regulated Militia." Meaning for a state's National Guard unit. Since weapons are provided by the Guard, there is no reason for the populace to own a hand gun.

The advocates for gun ownership read that amendment as indicting it is the right of all Americans to own a gun, "a well regulated Militia," not withstanding.

So goes the debate, which the Supreme Court seems to have settled in its recent decision. The best way to settle this debate is to look to the very men who wrote the 2nd Amendment to the United States of America Constitution. Now understand most of the 55 delegates to the United States Constitution Convention, went on to serve in government in various positions from town councils, mayors, state assemblies, governors, congress, senate, and the office of president. The question to ask is, once the Constitution was ratified and these men ascended to various public offices, why did they not confiscate all the pistols in these here United States? If the 2nd amendment was for only a "well regulated Militia," then after ratification of the constitution, the people who wrote it should have called for the confiscating of all pistols. Why did they not do this? That is because the 2nd amendment was not intended to keep pistols in the hands of the populace for a "well regulated Militia." See, at the time each state maintained armories throughout their states to supply their state militias, meaning personal pistols were not needed to a "well regulated Militia." Also meaning the keeping of pistols and weapons by individual Americans is a protected right not having anything to do with a "well regulated Militia," as the reason was secondary.

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