> -----Original Message-----
> From: Larry Lyons [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 12:37 PM
> To: CF-Community
> Subject: Re: Right To Bear Arms
>
> The language is pretty clear, its more of a collective right based on
> the state(s) to defend itself from an overbearing federal government:
>
> 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.
While I actually agree with you, I do see the opposing view:
The Constitution doesn't actually say that the right to bears arms is
_dependent_ upon a "a Well Regulated Militia". Really it just throws out
two statements. It's saying (or at least can be interpreted as doing so)
that a militia is desirable and the right to bear arms will not be
infringed.
To be flippant it's saying (in its best "Zoidberg" voice): "now that you've
got all those guns, no questions asked, maybe you would like to start a
militia, why not?" (Yes, the Constitution does a fine "Zoidberg".)
It's not making the right dependent upon organization of militias. It's
giving the right directly ("shall not be infringed"), unattached, and using
militias as driving the reason for doing so.
I do think that this is the "right" interpretation - I think the framers
honestly meant to place no restrictions on citizen ownership of weapons. At
the same time I don't consider the Constitution divine word either... this,
more than most aspects, needs to be considered in the context of the time.
The politics of a country recently created from citizen rebellion, the
technology of the time, etc.
Of course a loophole might exist in the definition of "arms"... does that
include nuclear weapons? Flame throwers? Assault weapons? Anything one
guy can carry? There is clearly a line someplace... but where, exactly, is
it drawn?
Times change - the founders, if alive today, would have given (I'm guessing,
but confident) much more attention to the question.
I think the bottom line here is that the founders screwed up and created a
very ambiguous statement. Had they been less flowery and more concrete we
would be fighting over this centuries later.
Jim Davis
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