nice.
I believe the Constitution and Bill of Rights are designed to apply equally to all citizens...but I might be forgetting something.
Anyway, in practice, of course, its not, abortion being the ready, tragic example.
Madame-
In taking the plainest view of the text, seems to me that the “well-regulated militia” is the people.
Saw that episode when I was a little boy. Even then it PO'd me. What the "All in the Family" script writers would not dare admit is that, at the time the Constitution was written, “well-regulated” meant well equipped, and that this simply described the purpose of the 2nd Amendment - to create a large pool of well equipped militia. As for the militia, who are they? The are the people - ALL of the people who are not slaves or criminals (and Andy Jackson got a lot of help at New Orleans from criminals - pirates - and was glad of it!).
The actual purpose of the Second Amendment is documented in the commentary of the time, The Federalist Papers and The Anti-Federalist Papers. Funny how nobody goes back to the source...
The Bill of Rights refers to three entities by name: the States [individual states], the Federal government and “the People”. In each and every instance that an amendment refers to ‘people’, it has been interpreted to mean an INDIVIDUAL right. When referring to a power held by state governments, the word state is used.
The Second Amendment makes no reference to the states, but does refer to the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It is an individual right. It was understood to be so by the Founders. And since they had a healthy distrust of government to begin with, an armed citizenry was in accord with their ideas of keeping the government honest.
All this is premised, of course, on the doctrine of original intent. If one subscribes to the “Constitution as a living document”, all bets on its meaning are off. Then it depends on what five of the nine say it means.
1. The National Guard is not the militia. At the time the Constitution was written it meant all able bodied males (would now include women) over the age of 18. The National Guard did not exist when the Constitution was written.
2. Militias can be organized (recognized by the individual state) or an unorganized group. The definition is pretty loose and meant to apply to all citizens of legal age.
3. The 2nd Amendment is a way to determine the faith our elected officials place in “we the people”. Federal soldiers/workers/elected officials cannot be members of the militia. It’s an us and them sort of arrangement. When “they” begin trying to grab guns it means “they” do not trust “we the people” and are likely to try and take other rights guaranteed us in that most perfect document.
Every state and the federal statutes all define the militia thus:
1. The organized militia (national guard).
2. The unorganized militia (every able bodied man 18 to 45 years old).
TITLE 10 > Subtitle A > PART I > CHAPTER 13 > § 311
§ 311. Militia: composition and classes
(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.
(b) The classes of the militia are—
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.
The Founding Fathers all believed in the personal right to self-defense because they knew that all forms of government (be they local, state or federal) are susceptible to corruption and tyrants.
It was their opinion that Americans should never live in fear of their government, but that government should live in fear of the American people.
The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system. The Army National Guard is part of the United States Army, comprising approximately one half of its available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization. The Air National Guard is part of the United States Air Force.
Title 10 of the US Code states:
(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.
(b) The classes of the militia are—
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.[14]
Many states also maintain their own State Defense Forces. These forces are federally recognized militia but not as an armed force service. Because of this, they are separate from the National Guard and are not meant to be federalized, but rather serve the state exclusively, especially when the National Guard is deployed or otherwise unavailable.
The right to keep and bear arms is a natural right and cannot be limited by the constitution. The founders put the second amendment in there to restrict the government from infringing upon the rights of the people. Not to codify the rights of the people which pre-existed.
I realize that most people are assuming that "free state" is referring to the body politic, but the primary definition of the word state, particularly in the 18th cent., is "condition, or manner of existing."
By referring to a "state" of freedom, a specific manner of existing for "the people," such a reading would seem to reinforce more greatly the individual nature fo the amendment than would a reading that refers to a "free State."
Probably quite a stretch, I'm sure, but it just struck me that I've never seen that question addressed, even if just to refute it quickly.
The National Guard is under State Jurisdiction and essentially controlled by the governor. But because they are working for the state, and getting paid by the state, the Guard could be used as a tool of intimidation against citizens. So a “well regulated militia” might be construed as government controlled.
But the peoples militia is supposed to be the balancing force against government intimidation. The peoples militia is not paid by the controlling government, nor are they equipped. The peoples militia is intended to be independent of a tyrannical government. The Constitution and Bill of Rights granted power to “We the People” as the enablers and limiters of what government can control, provide etc.
The founders recognized that an out of control government, similar to the one we have today, needs to be challenged if necessary by armed citizens. Government is all about control and power today. without firearms, people are helpless to fight tyranny and regain control of the Powers granted to the People in the Bill of Rights.
We do all this gun control crap because the libs don’t want law-abiding folks to have guns to defend themselves. An explicitly stated fundamental right.
Yet when conservatives do the same thing on abortion, regulating or preventing it in certain cases, they scream about it being a fundamental right and how dare we do that, blah blah blah....
Where did the militiaman or minuteman of the war for independence get his rifle or other weapons? They weren’t issued to him by the government. He already had them for hunting and for self protection. So the militia is any able bodied person that is willing and able to defend themselves, their family and their country. Therefore, we don’t need the government’s permission to keep and bear arms.
BTW, the National Guard is only part of the militia, even as defined by federal law, rather than the original meaning.
Title 10 US Code [Armed Forces]
"Section 311. MILITIA: COMPOSITION AND CLASSES
(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age [which deals with membership in theNational Guard] who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.
(b) The classes of the militia are--
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia."
Furthermore, each state has it's own defintion. Most states have another class as well, the State Guard. For example in Texas the militia is:
(1) able-bodied;
(2) a citizen or a person of foreign birth who has declared an intent to become a citizen;
(3) a resident of the state;
(4) at least 18 and not more than 60 years of age; and
(5) not exempt under Subsection (b) or (c) or United States law.
Note that this includes women. (b) lists exempt public officials, (c) exempts the mentally disabled.
Even old as I am, I'm still a member of the Texas Militia, at least for a few more months.
But again the second amendment, and it's Texas constitutional equivalent, protects a right of the people, or in the case of Texas, "Every Citizen", independent of membership in the militia. The Supreme Court even agrees.
Title 10, Section 311 of US Code lays out who is in the unorganized militia. Basically it’s all men 18-45, except those already in the military, plus female National Guard officers.
The way to understand the Second Amendment is to cast it in slightly different but grammatically equivalent terms:
“A well-educated electorate being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and read books shall not be infringed.”
The electorate is strengthened by guaranteeing the right to read books to all people, even those (like children) not part of the electorate; just as the militia is strengthened by guaranteeing the right to bear arms to all people, even those (like women) not in the militia.
-ccm
From http://www.newswithviews.com/Vieira/edwinA.htm
True Vs. False Militia & Why the Difference Matters, Part 3, 7-30-07
True Vs. False Militia & Why the Difference Matters, Part 2, 7-30-07
True Vs. False Militia & Why the Difference Matters, Part 1, 7-30-07
More insight http://www.committeesofsafety.com/Committees_of_Safety/Home.html
