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To: do the dhue
"In my view, if you read this between the proper comma placement, it is saying that a well regulated militia and the right of the PEOPLE to bear arms, shall not be infringed."

So, in effect, you're reading the second amendment as, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, and the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Well, that's a new interpretation, I have to admit. It's wrong, for sure, but it is a new one.

The second amendment does not say, "An armed populace, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The Founders discussed this and ruled it out, saying that such a scheme would be "as futile as it would be injurious".

A "well regulated Militia" was necessary to the security of a free state. The Founders wished to protect the right of "the people" (not all citizens) as members of a Militia to keep and bear arms from federal infringement.

102 posted on 01/06/2008 8:39:57 AM PST by robertpaulsen
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To: robertpaulsen

OK, with the ‘and’ I am placing in there, you are right. But if I am wrong, why didn’t the founding fathers gather all the hunting rifles and weapons that people were using back in the day, who were not members of a well regulated militia?


103 posted on 01/06/2008 8:45:17 AM PST by do the dhue (They've got us surrounded again. The poor bastards. General Creighton Abrams)
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