Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: grania
...Okay...the right to bear arms shall not be infringed. Does that mean a person who is so inclined could have a nuclear weapon?

The Framers have addressed your question, at least implicitly. Article I, section 8, clause 11 authorizes congress to issue "Letters of Marque and Reprisal". At the time of the founding, these were warrants authorizing private citizens to take action against enemy nations.

The very strong implication was that it was perfectly reasonable for individual citizens, or groups of individual citizens, to possess weapons at least comparable to, if not equivalent, or even superior to those of enemy nations.

Even though congress has never used this power, the thinking behind it is pretty clear to anyone who can read common english. The lawyers who will spend days and months arguing over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin have convinced themselves that the 2A has a much lesser meaning today. But it does not take much thinking or study for a reasonable man to convince himself that the original meaning of "keep and bear arms" was quite broad.

30 posted on 06/21/2015 3:06:41 PM PDT by CurlyDave
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies ]


To: CurlyDave; grania
The Framers have addressed your question, at least implicitly. Article I, section 8, clause 11 authorizes congress to issue "Letters of Marque and Reprisal". At the time of the founding, these were warrants authorizing private citizens to take action against enemy nations.

No response Grania?

To tell you the truth Grania, I was floored by your posts on this. I thought you really were a conservative.
31 posted on 06/21/2015 4:56:47 PM PDT by SoConPubbie (Mitt and Obama: They're the same poison, just a different potency)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson