"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."
That's the second amendment to the Constitution, folks. All of it. Mrs. Grundy's fourth grade grammar class should give you enough knowledge to interpret that sentence: There are two clauses in the sentence. One is a prefatory clause, "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State" and the other, "the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" is the operative clause.
A prefatory clause clarifies the operative clause. It is EASY to see that the right to keep and bear arms, according to this amendment, is inextricably tied to the formation of a well regulated militia.
One can dance around the definition of militia, but the key words in the entire amendment are right up front: 'WELL REGULATED.' Period. End of story.
If the Constitution's framers wanted to grant a narrowly defined right, they would have been more specific, restricting the right to bear arms only to the Militia itself or those enrolled in the Militia. A few words inserted, maybe an 'only' would have sufficed, and there would have been no doubt as to their intent. But they didn't -- they gave the right to all the People, not some of the People.
ReplyDeleteBTW, if the People are in the mood to restrict gun-bearing rights, the Supremes confirmed their ability to do so in their ruling. If the People want to completely ban guns, they can amend the Constitution. In a document that doesn't even mention a right to privacy, we should respect the right specifically granted. Remember, the operative clause is "the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
We don't -- and shouldn't -- get into the 'if, then' game. The Amendment is what it is. The only interpretive problem occurs because of the evolution of the word 'militia.' Go back to the 18th century, look it up, and there you have it.
ReplyDeleteSo we all can carry. What can we carry? The infinite wisdom of the Founding Fathers again prevails. They ordained a 'well-regulated' militia; we can carry whatever we regulate as carryable, and exclude pretty much what we want.
Let's not let Jacoby and Myers interpret us into some legalistic swamp.