[robertpaulsen]

"What particular government authorized the Minutemen to keep their arms at home on April 18,1775?"

I don't know.

The second amendment authorizes nothing. It grants no right or priviledge. When the federal government was created, it stated that the RKBA was not to be infringed by that institution.

[William Tell]

robertpaulsen said: "I don't know." [As to what particular government authorized the Minutemen to keep their arms at home on April 18,1775?]

There was no US Constitution at the time, was there? Does that mean that the Minutemen were a Massachusett's militia? But that would mean that they were created and authorized by Massachusetts, wouldn't it?

But they weren't, were they? If they had been, then the military governor of Massachusetts would not have sent the Regular Army to disarm them, would he?

Tell me, do you think it was important what happened on April 18, 1775? Is it relevant to how our nation was created? Is there any relevance to the limitations on government power written into the US Constitution?

You have stated that the right to keep and bear arms pre-dated the Second Amendment and was not created by it? Do you think that the Minutemen were exercising their right to keep and bear arms?

[tpaine]

robertpaulsen wrote:

When the federal government was created, it stated that the RKBA was not to be infringed by that institution.

Wrong robbie strikes again.
When the federal government was created, the Constitution stated that the RKBA was not to be infringed by any level of government, as is evident by Art. VI.
Both the supremacy clause, and oaths of office bind all officials to support our Consitution as the "Law of the Land".

[mvpel]

When the federal government was created, it stated that the RKBA was not to be infringed by that institution.

In other words, the right to keep and bear arms existed before there ever was a federal government.