Many states have written into their constitutions, a bill of rights that were very similar to the US constitution. This is not redundancy. Originally, most of the items in the US bill of rights only restricted the US Congress. If you read it carefully, you will see that the 2nd amendment gives all of us the right to bear arms. But the first amendment prohibits only Congress, not the states, from abridging religion and free speech.
Supposedly that all changed after the 14th amendment.
I am exhausted and I'm going to hit the sack. I just want to thank you and secretagent for carrying this conversation. Contrary to many, I think it is important. Thank you both and everyone else that has joined in.