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To: neverdem
Richard Skidmore mis-quotes the Second Amendment...

His version: 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 actual version: 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 difference, of course, is in the punctuation.

The version Skidmore author uses is much more definitive. Unfortunately, we have to live with the one we have. It makes no sense to use as a basis for argument language that does not exist in the actual Constitution.

By hyphenating well-regulated, Skidmore emphasizes the meaning of regulated that refers to drilling and practice. By eliminating the first comma, Skidmore makes it clear that the militia is what is necessary for state security. And, finally, by eliminating the last comma, the statement that the right of the people shall not be infringed is much more direct and unequivocal.

Unfortunately, this exercise in creative writing exists nowhere in the law, so it is moot.
14 posted on 06/02/2004 1:07:13 PM PDT by bondjamesbond (Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown)
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To: bondjamesbond; boris
His version: 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.

I didn't notice the hyphen in his version.

IIRC, Boris had a reference about which of the one or three comma versions of the Second Amendment was correct. The version that the Congress voted on was different from the one that the state legislatures ratified. I think the clerk of the U. S. House of Representatives made a transcribing error.

Regardless, in all of the other amendments in the BOR they referred to individual rights. One of the first laws passed by Congress, the Militia Act in 1792, IIRC, expected every swinging Richard to bring his own piece if he had one.

24 posted on 06/02/2004 1:30:35 PM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi min oi)
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To: bondjamesbond
His version: 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 actual version: 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 difference, of course, is in the punctuation.

The version Skidmore author uses is much more definitive. Unfortunately, we have to live with the one we have. It makes no sense to use as a basis for argument language that does not exist in the actual Constitution. By hyphenating well-regulated, Skidmore emphasizes the meaning of regulated that refers to drilling and practice. By eliminating the first comma, Skidmore makes it clear that the militia is what is necessary for state security. And, finally, by eliminating the last comma, the statement that the right of the people shall not be infringed is much more direct and unequivocal. Unfortunately, this exercise in creative writing exists nowhere in the law, so it is moot.

The version sent out to the states for ratification and apparently the version that came out of the Congress before being sent to the printer, a government printer of course, only had one comma, as in Skidmore's version. Don't know about the hyphenation of "well regulated". None of the more or less original versions I've seen have the hyphen, although the version in the Alaska state Constitution does. In any event it was a well understood term meaning properly functioning or fit for its intended purpose. The single comma version is what was ratified by the states, and thus is the version that rules.

FR Comma issue documentation

SAF page discussing the comma issue.

GPO Version of the second amendment has only 1 comma.

GPO Image1(one comma)(Rhode Island ratification document)

Senate Passed version (image, one comma)</

92 posted on 06/02/2004 7:31:46 PM PDT by El Gato (Federal Judges can twist the Constitution into anything.. Or so they think.)
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To: bondjamesbond

Actually using common grammer, the original punctuation you quote is very strong for an individual right.

"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."

With the commas as originally written, it's an awkward sentence, but clearly seems to list TWO things which shall not be infringed, namely a well regulated militia, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms.

Given the similarity to clauses in state constitutions of the time, any honest appraisal will understand it as supporting individual rights. Unfortunatly we know our liberal opponents are anything but intellectually honest.

Honestly, I expect to see an actual civil war...a shooting war... within America in my lifetime.


105 posted on 06/02/2004 10:40:24 PM PDT by AnalogReigns
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