One Solution to the Gun Problem: Enforce the Whole Second Amendment (Guess where he's going...)

AOL Daily Finance ^ | January 21, 2013 | Bruce Watson

[2ndDivisionVet]

The one thing that President Obama and the National Rifle Association seem to agree on is that the U.S. needs to develop a more effective firearms policy. Over the past month, both sides have offered suggestions: Obama has proposed a four-part plan to ban assault weapons, protect schools, implement background checks, and screen out mentally ill potential gun purchasers. As for the NRA, spokesman Wayne LaPierre proposed the "National Model School Shield Program," a plan to train teachers in the use of firearms and enlist volunteers to patrol school grounds.

Both proposals have severe shortcomings: Obama's assumes the passage of extensive gun-control legislation -- wishful thinking, given Congress' severe disfunction and the lobbying power of the NRA. As for the NRA, its notion of elementary schools being patrolled by armed volunteers and militarized math teachers is harrowing at best.

To develop a third, better alternative, one might consider looking back to the specific wording of the Second Amendment.

Getting Back to Basics

The trouble is, the Second Amendment is notoriously confusing. Stating: "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," the amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms, but does so with a caveat, qualifying the right by couching it in terms of a military organization.

Today, activists on both sides of the gun divide argue about what the Founding Fathers meant by "well-regulated militias." Gun opponents claim that the Second Amendment's wording referenced a power struggle between state militias and a federal army -- the resolution of which renders much of the amendment moot. Meanwhile, gun proponents argue that "well-regulated" essentially meant "well-armed," suggesting that there should be few limits on gun ownership...

[2ndDivisionVet]

Yeah, those "other members of the community" are also known as CRIMINALS, Bruce.

[Tublecane]

The 2nd amendment isn’t confusing at all. I don’t think there’s another law in the history of the country that’s as well documented to have meant one thing. People only pretend not to understand, consciously or not, for ulterior ends. Or maybe they’re grossly ignorant and can’t read, aren’t familiar with how constitutional language works, or haven’t bothered to consult the vast literature on the subject.

Here’s a cheat code: whenever the Constitution says “the right of the people,” it means the same thing.

[MDspinboyredux]

Wow. I’ve never read a poorer interpretation of what the Second Amendment is in my life.

It’s almost if people want to redefine what the Second Amendment is, rather than attempt to actually amend it. To render its contents so different from intent to make it actually meaningless.

[Eye of Unk]

The Swiss way is the way to go.

[RC one]

The liberal ideal of a militia is the "select" militia which is exactly the kind of militia our forefathers didn't envision. This is a militia that is, essentially, an armed guard in the employ of the government and it is, therefore, subject to the same corruptions that turn democratic governments into despotic oligarchies. It is nothing more than a small standing army that operates in conjunction with the large standing army. It is, in effect, the government.

The reality is, our forefathers intended for the militia to be separate from the government. They absolutely, unequivocally, inarguably intended for the militia to be a counter balance to government power in order to prevent the kind of government oppression and abuses that led to the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. A select militia actually promotes oppression and abuse. A well armed loosely organized civilian militia prevents it and that's why liberals oppose the Jeffersonian Republican ideal of the militia.

Volumes of evidence exist which support this reality which forces the leftists to perform all manner of political trickery to obfuscate the issue. They lie, cheat, manipulate and coerce. they argue that the constitution guarantees them the right to slaughter unborn children in their mother's womb but does not guarantee that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. They represent everything our forefathers despised and, as such, it is little wonder that they hold our forefathers in such low regard. Their attempt to disarm us belies their cowardice and the recognition that their day of reckoning is coming.

[Eye of Unk]

I wonder why nobody has ever thought about calling it The Tea Party Army or something to that effect.

I wonder why people who believe in the Tea Party have not voiced a desire to have state funding, donations, site areas for training and above all a plan of action, to be prepared to at the very least to defend the state capitols from enemies from within.

[Timber Rattler]

Bruce here has never bothered to read what the Framers said about it outside the Amednment itself, especially Madison's Federalist #46.

"Let a regular army, fully equal to the resources of the country, be formed; and let it be entirely at the devotion of the federal government; still it would not be going too far to say, that the State governments, with the people on their side, would be able to repel the danger. The highest number to which, according to the best computation, a standing army can be carried in any country, does not exceed one hundredth part of the whole number of souls; or one twenty-fifth part of the number able to bear arms. This proportion would not yield, in the United States, an army of more than twenty-five or thirty thousand men. To these would be opposed a militia amounting to near half a million of citizens with arms in their hands, officered by men chosen from among themselves, fighting for their common liberties, and united and conducted by governments possessing their affections and confidence. It may well be doubted, whether a militia thus circumstanced could ever be conquered by such a proportion of regular troops."

Of course, the Left's meme of the week is that the 2nd Amendment's purpose was to simply control slaves, and is therefore moot and obsolete.

[Yosemitest]

The United States Citizens KNOW that they're going to have to fight TYRANTS in their own government.
You cannot protect life, without the ability to take life.

While you are WAITING for the police to respond, someone could be losing their life.
All people of a responsible age should be armed.

As EternalVigilance reminded us:

The Second Amendment IS Pro-Life.

"Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these:
First, a right to life;
Secondly, to liberty;
Thirdly, to property;
together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can.
These are evident branches of, rather than deductions from, the duty of self-preservation,
commonly called the first law of nature...
In short, it is the greatest absurdity to suppose it in the power of one, or any number of men, at the entering into society,
to renounce their essential natural rights, or the means of preserving those rights;
when the grand end of civil government, from the very nature of its institution, is for the support, protection, and defence of those very rights;
the principal of which, as is before observed, are Life, Liberty, and Property.
If men, through fear, fraud, or mistake, should in terms renounce or give up any essential natural right, the eternal law of reason and the grand end of society would absolutely vacate such renunciation.
The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty,
it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift
and voluntarily become a slave."




-- Samuel Adams, The Rights of the Colonists

Click here to read the 12 page pamphlet.

Let us NEVER FORGET THAT !

Let's subjugate them to OUR end game, DUST!
"COMPROMISE" is a DIRTY word!
People who study the Bible know that COMPROMISE almost always leads to destruction.


It's time to mock the "Gun Control" Zombies!
"Gun Control" is a firm grip, steady breathing, accurate aim (developed by lots of practice), and a slow trigger pull.


The Swiss have got it CORRECT !
We need to learn from the Swiss and implement their "gun control measures" here in the United States right now, today!
These laws are the ones we should shove into the "2nd Amendment Haters" faces.

" Today, military service for Swiss males is universal. At about age 20, every Swiss male goes through 118 consecutive days of recruit training in the Rekrutenschule. ...

Even before required training begins, young men and women may take optional courses with the Swiss army's M57 assault rifle.
They keep that gun at home for three months and receive six half-day training sessions.

From age 21 to 32, a Swiss man serves as a "frontline" troop in the Auszug, and devotes three weeks a year (in eight of the 12 years) to continued training.
From age 33 to 42, he serves in the Landwehr (like America's National Guard); every few years, he reports for two-week training periods.
Finally, from ages 43, to 50, he serves in the Landsturm; in this period, he only spends 13 days total in "home guard courses."

Over a soldier's career he also spends scattered days on mandatory equipment inspections and required target practice.
Thus, in a 30-year mandatory military career, a Swiss man only spends about one year in direct military service.
Following discharge from the regular army, men serve on reserve status until age 50 (55 for officers).

By the Federal Constitution of 1874, military servicemen are given their first equipment, clothing and arms.
After the first training period, conscripts must keep gun, ammunition and equipment an ihrem Wohnort ("in their homes") until the end of their term of service.

Today, enlisted men are issued M57 AUTOMATIC assault rifles and officers are given pistol.
Each reservist is issued 24 rounds of ammunition in sealed packs for emergency use.
(Contrary to Handgun Control's claim that "all ammunition must be accounted for," the emergency ammunition is the only ammo that requires accounting.)

After discharge from service, the man is given a bolt rifle free from registration or obligation.
Starting in the 1994, the government will GIVE ex-reservists assault rifles. Officers carry pistols rather than rifles and are given their pistols the end of their service.

When the government adopts a new infantry rifle, it sells the old ones to the public.

Reservists are encouraged to buy MILITARY ammunition
(7.5 and 5.6mm-5.56 mm in other countries-for rifles and 9 and 7.65 mm Luger for pistols)
which is sold AT COST by the government, for target practice .
Non-military ammunition for long-gun hunting and .22 Long Rifle (LR) ammo are not subsidised, but are subiect to NO sales controls.
Non-military non-hunting ammunition more powerful than .22 LR (such as .38 Spl.) is registered at the time of sale.

Swiss military ammo must be registered IF bought at a private store, BUT NEED NOT BE REGISTERED IF bought at a range.
The nation's 3,000 shooting ranges sell the overwhelming majority of ammunition.
Technically, ammunition bought at the range must be used at the range, but the rule is barely known and almost never obeyed.

The army SELLS a variety of machine guns, submachine guns, anti-tank weapons, anti-aircraft guns, howitzers and cannons.
Purchasers of these weapons require an EASILY OBTAINED cantonal license, and the weapons are registered.
In a nation of six million people, there are at least two million guns, including 600,000 FULLY AUTOMATIC assault rifles, half a million pistols, and numerous machine guns.
Virtually every home has a gun.

Besides SUBSIDIZED military surplus, the Swiss can buy other firearms easily too.
While long guns require NO special purchase procedures, handguns are sold only to those with a Waffenerwerbsschien (purchase certificate) issued by a cantonal authority.
A certificate is issued to every applicant over 18 who is not a criminal or mentally infirm.

There are NO restrictions on the carrying of long guns.
About half the cantons have strict permit procedures for carrying handguns, and the other half have NO rules at all.
There is NO discernible difference in the crime rate between the cantons as a result of the different policies.

Thanks to a lawsuit brought by the Swiss gun lobby, semi-automatic rifles require NO PURCHASE PERMIT and are NOT registered by the government.
Thus, the ONLY long guns registered by the government are FULL AUTOMATICS."

The Swiss have got it CORRECT !
Let's adopt THEIR LAWS !

Remember:

The beauty of the Second Amendment is
that it will not be needed
until they TRY to take it.

Read Second Amendment: It’s Not About Hunting, IT'S ABOUT TYRANNY .

[marsh2]

The Supreme Court ruled it was an individual right. It is a moot point for what reason the federal government is forbidden from infringing upon the right. It just is. I lacks the delegated authority to regulate or infringe upon the right. It is retained by the People from federal government.

For Obama or the Congress to act otherwise makes us all subjects without the consent of the governed.

[Eye of Unk]

Its a lonely life being the only person that adheres to the 2A, I’m a bit long in the tooth, not as fast as I used to be, I’ll most like not have any strategic plan or objective on how a single person can be a 2A soldier without formal training or military leadership.

just have to wing it i guess, drop off the web, keep a low profile, spot any “new friends” and lead them elsewhere as they will most likely be ones trying to break apart any and all organized militias. Which makes it problematic when you think you should join a militia.

Dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t.

[shibumi]

"The Swiss way is the way to go."

Agree 100%

Add banking and currency stability to that and you're got a prosperous nation.

[Yosemitest]

The coming slaughter over our "freedom/liberty" (the two words are NOT the same) will probably be long and prophetic.
I ran across a good description of the two words, here.

FREEDOM is NOT Liberty

From a linguistic, definitional and etymological perspective, these two words do not have the same meaning.
I assert that in fact, FREEDOM is a fabricated imposture for Liberty.
The founders of the United States understood this critical difference.
This is why Liberty is the word used in the Declaration of Independence.
Below is a comparison between the two words.
This example, while not fully documented here, provides substantial and sound assertions.
This comes after years of study in linguistics, etymology and history, as well as being a scholar and speaker of several languages.

FREEDOM
This word has two roots:
FREE and DOM.
In order to fully understand it's meaning it is necessary to examine it's roots.
FREE means that which is unrestrained.
This sounds pretty good.
Most everybody would agree that they want to choose for themselves.

DOM means to control or dominate.

FREEDOM linguistically and etymologically means:
"Control/Domination over those who claim to be free"
When you see a bumper sticker that says: "Freedom is not Free", they are 100% correct.
Freedom is not FREE. It is not LIBERTY. It is a 'word-game' meaning bondage.

Please look up the meanings of the term 'DOM' in the dictionary, Black's Law Dictionary and it's historic usage and etymological meaning.
You will always find this word related to CONTROL and DOMINATION.
Those who act irresponsibly and without restraint exercising their inherent powers without regard to causing harm, must be controlled and dominated by definition of the LAW.
FREEDOM is like a blank check saying:
"do whatever you want, hurt whoever you want,
but we will execute judgment upon you for your harmful actions"

It is extremely important to realize that those who are FREE, and have LIBERTY must live by the golden rule
or they are instantly 'transformed' (X-FORMED, "x marks the spot") into those who are subject to 'FREEDOM'.

LIBERTY

Contrary to many studies on the historic meaning of this word, the true root meaning originates in:
LIBE in indo-european (aka: Germanic languages, the 'mother tongue')
LIBE means LOVE or that which one loves.
Also LIBE refers to LEBEN which mean LIFE.
Therefore Liberty means LOVE and LIFE.
These word/meanings are fundamental connected meanings of LIBERTY.
The writers of the declaration of Independence understand this.
That is why they did not use the "false" substitute-word 'FREEDOM' which truly is an imposture.

I want this information to be of benefit to my brothers and sisters on this planet.
If you read this, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE spread the word.
Love you all... Wishing you all happiness and joy.... Mar 02 2011 17:39:34

Don't join a militia.
If you haven't any military experience by now, the best you can do is find a gun club and go to their range and get an education with lots of practice.
Depending on your age, learn how to survive a long hike and become good at packing light.
Learn how to camp, and learn how to become a sniper(there are books to read).

[Tublecane]

You got some bad information. “Liberty” derives from the Latin “liber,” which means “free.” “Dom” does not mean control or domination. It means status or condition. So “freedom” means the condition or state of being free, which is synonymous with “liberty.”

[Dusty Road]

PFL

[G Larry]

“the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”

Well, Watson, “keep and bear arms” does NOT mean “store them with the Tyrants”!!!

[Yosemitest]

I have The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology [Hardcover] 1988 edition and it agrees with you.

HOWEVER, it gives the following for -dom a suffix.:
... In Old English -dōm is related to -dōm judgment, DOOM and cognate with Old Saxon -dōm -dom, Old High German -tuom (modern German -tum ), and Old Icelandic -dōmr.

Also I found on Wiktionary.

(“doom, judgment, sentence, condemnation, ordeal, judicial sentence, decree, ordinance, law, custom; justice, equity; direction, ruling, governing, command; might, power, dominion, supremacy, majesty, glory, magnificence, splendor, reputation, honor, praise, dignity, authority; state, condition”).

You might be interested in the subtle differences in

how the word freedom is used in the King James Bible
compared to how the word "liberty" is used in the King James Bible.

There IS a difference between the two words, and as someone commented:

"‘Free’ can mean things antithetical to liberty.
People can be made free of sin, or free of the contradictions inherent to capitalism (per Marx) only by making them decidedly unfree in other ways.
To be kept free of sin, somebody must prevent the people – by force and threat of violence – from doing those things some authority considers sinful.

Liberty can be extinguished in pursuit of freedom, depending on what is meant by ‘free’."

Gabi Strenger said:

"Freedom is a discharge from commitment. During summer vacations we are discharged from work.
If a teacher does not arrive for a class, the children have a “free” hour.
We are all familiar with the overwhelming joy of a sudden free hour.
Freedom is fun, it is a rest, but it entails neither growth nor creativity.

Liberty, however, is our ability to choose our own way within the framework of the limiting circumstances that life hands us –
such as our place of birth, socio-economic status, our appearance or our talents.
Liberty is not the freedom from commitment but the freedom to choose – within the confines of our commitments.

Liberty becomes a reality within an adult, creative life and it is particularly connected
to the responsibility that we take upon ourselves
and to our ability to accept the human condition with all its different dimensions, including illness and even death.

Our sages expressed this thought in a beautiful explanation of the verse in the Torah that describes the two tablets.
“And the writing was the writing of God, engraved upon the Tablets” (Exodus 32:16).
Do not read harut – engraved, but herut – liberty (Mishna, Ethics of the Fathers, 6:2).

When we are searching for mere freedom, the “engravings” within us –
whether in our genes, or whether in our legal system –
seem to us to be massive obstacles.
However, when we seek liberty, herut, while we are making the effort to remove our Egyptian limitations,
we must simultaneously find creative ways to deal with what is harut “engraved” – the circumstances of our lives that we cannot change.

Liberty is not a children’s game and it was not given to us as a gift.
Liberty is achieved through our journey towards adulthood, through our struggles both within ourselves and within our environment.
The fruits of that liberty, which have been achieved through “the sweat of our brow,” are the ultimate in sweetness."

[Stepan12]

The trouble is, the Second Amendment is notoriously confusing. Stating: "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," the amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms, but does so with a caveat, qualifying the right by couching it in terms of a military organization.

The second sentence is not true. The phrase a well regulated militia does not qualify/restrict anything. In the parlance of the day it is what is known as a present participle and that does not restrict the meaning of the latter phrase the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

[Sloth]

the amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms, but does so with a caveat, qualifying the right by couching it in terms of a military organization.

Idiotic. The first part of the Amendment (the militia bit) is stating *why* the Amendment is important. It doesn't tell anyone to do anything, it's just stating a fact. It's the second part that actually places a requirement, and it acknowledged "the right of the people," not "the right of the militia" or "the right of the states." The authors of the Bill of Rights clearly knew the difference between "people" and "states" -- they go out of their way to explicitly address both in the Tenth Amendment.

[bmwcyle]

Bruce go back to feeling bad about having a gay name and shut up.

[M Kehoe]

This is for Mr. Watson's education...

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state,...

Mr. Watson, please listen carefully. The above sentence is in plain English. It simply means, a well equipped and trained people are necessary to keep your freedom. Nothing more, nothing less.

Bruce, your next class will be a week from today at 0840 hrs. Don't be tardy.

5.56mm