[Dead Corpse]

Ordnance
Arms
Gun

Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Is it feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man against his own bosom? Congress shall have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American? The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the People.
-- Tench Coxe, The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb 20, 1788

Do I need to post Barbary Pirate info as well? Or will you accede the point that the Second covers much more than just muskets and calvary sabers?

[rjsimmons]

I never said that the 2A didn't cover more than muskets and sabres. Just that ordnance is not what they were discussing. The debate over that is chronicled and I would have to do some digging in my research papers, but I can get it. The quote you gave is from Adams and was in his support of the Constitution in trying to limit the Federal power over the people. The context is arms, not ordnance. An excellent web site to visit regarding this is Guncite.org