I separate the Constitution from our Rights as two distinct concepts or topics, and I have long believed that the Founders did the same. The Constitution's plain language makes it clear: This document is not the source of our rights, it merely acknowledges their existence while at the same time telling government that it shall not infringe upon them. This is what needs to be pounded into people's brains.
We don't have a right to self-defense because The Constitution says we do. We have it because we are alive.
>>We don't have a right to self-defense because
>>The Constitution says we do. We have it because we are alive.
Yep. The Republic is a system of governance constituted by the Rule of Law.
The purpose of the system of laws that constitute our American Republic is -- to SECURE those rights. But don't bother trying to tell that to rulers like King Dubya:
"How we correct this mistake is the sacred mission of those of us who understand the process of ruling a country."
--George W Bush
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3597443/posts
Pssst. Hey Dubya: CONSENT denied.
https://youtu.be/8Vr-EKwC8YU?t=1m29s