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The truth about 2nd Amendmt, Part 2: Mitilia history as founders knew it
Constitution.org ^ | 6/10/02 | Wolfstar

Posted on 06/10/2002 8:14:11 AM PDT by Wolfstar

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Here's another excellent link: REPORT of the SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION. This is a report on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms from the Senate Judiciary Committee, Feb. 1982, when the great Ronald Reagan was President and he had a Republican-controlled Senate.
1 posted on 06/10/2002 8:14:12 AM PDT by Wolfstar
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To: Ancesthntr; archy; Arcturus; Beelzebubba; Bloodmeridian; Freeper; Grampa Dave; Hostage...
Ping
2 posted on 06/10/2002 8:15:19 AM PDT by Wolfstar
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To: Wolfstar
I don't feel like contributing today. ~~~ Wait until you see "Unable to locate server"
I don't have money. ~~~ Help with the fundraiser. Bump the threads, ping your FRiends.
There's plenty of time to donate. ~~~ Bill collectors don't see it that way.
I don't know where to contribute. ~~~ Credit card, mail: FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794 , Paypal: JimRob@psnw.com
I've got too many other things to do first. ~~~ Don't we all?
I can't contribute much, what's five dollars. ~~~ If everyone contributed one dollar a month, we'd never have a fundraiser again.
The dog ate my credit card. ~~~ Shoot the dog.
Just let me finish freeping. ~~~ BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Don't wait until it's too late. Do it today. Do it now! Before they bring out the cheerleaders! Free Republic is funded solely by us. It's up to us to keep it running. Do your part, contribute if you can. Bump the fundraising threads. Help keep this place alive!

3 posted on 06/10/2002 8:16:16 AM PDT by WIMom
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To: Wolfstar
I bookmarked this article for future reading. Good stuff there.
4 posted on 06/10/2002 8:16:23 AM PDT by Ciexyz
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To: Wolfstar
Once again, thanks for your hard work.
5 posted on 06/10/2002 8:22:51 AM PDT by bloodmeridian
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To: Wolfstar
bump
6 posted on 06/10/2002 8:37:36 AM PDT by Maelstrom
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To: Maelstrom
Bump
7 posted on 06/10/2002 9:31:07 AM PDT by Ohioan
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To: Wolfstar
BUMP!
8 posted on 06/10/2002 9:34:14 AM PDT by dead
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To: Wolfstar
The truth is, none of this matters. The Supreme Court just
refused to review two cases that could have settled this
issue.

They let the Federal Gun Control laws stand. I might add
contrary to the cheering squad here, the administration
argued in defense of the Federal Gun Control Laws, in
direct conflict with their previous decleration of individual
rights in the second ammendment.

9 posted on 06/10/2002 10:18:27 AM PDT by itsahoot
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To: Wolfstar
I admit I enjoy reading articles like this but at the same time I resent the fact that some feel that a right need be justified in order to be a right.

The point is that the Constitution never granted the government the power to write law denying the citizen his individual rights. The Second Amendment was written to protect the citizen’s inherent right to individual gun ownership from government interference. Without the Second Amendment the government still would not have the Constitutional power to write law interfering with the citizen’s individual right to gun ownership. If the First Amendment was not there to protect the citizen’s inherent right to free speech and worship the government still would not have been granted the power to write law that interfered with the citizen’s right to free speech and worship.

A right does not require a reason to be a right. The position that if a valid reason cannot be proffered then the right does not exist is incorrect.

The Second Amendment could have been written “A Sun rising in the east being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” The individual right to bear arms would still exist. A citizen may exercise his right to gun ownership for the purpose of using the gun for self defense or he may use it for a paperweight if he wishes.

I am fond of this observation of Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson, by no means an imprecise thinker, was well aware of this consideration. In commenting upon how the Constitution should properly be read, he said: "On every question of construction let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning can be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one which was passed.”

10 posted on 06/10/2002 10:25:10 AM PDT by MosesKnows
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To: MosesKnows
You are, of course, correct in theory. But in the day-to-day world in which we live, vast numbers of people do not understand their rights or the reasons underpinning those rights specified in the Constitution. My purpose is not to justify, but to educate.
11 posted on 06/10/2002 10:44:08 AM PDT by Wolfstar
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To: Ciexyz
How do you bookmark articles, again? I mean, stick them on your Free Republic homepage? I've only ever done it, once, and have forgotten how to do it. Appreciate any help, as I'd like to save this article for the future.
12 posted on 06/10/2002 10:45:35 AM PDT by Green Knight
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To: Green Knight
Immediately below the article, but above comment #1 is a field, [Report Abuse | Bookmark Discussion]. (It's the latter.)
13 posted on 06/10/2002 10:50:02 AM PDT by coloradan
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To: Wolfstar
Thanks for the research. I guess the point has to be proven because judges have lost their history and common sense on this issue.

At the time of the Constitution, the militia was all able bodied men. Think Lexington and Concord. There was no police force in most of the country, no National Guard and a tiny standing army. Without a personal right to own arms, there would have been no militia.

The collectivist argument is really stupid. The other provisions of the Bill of Rights all deal with personal rights. No amendment of the Constitution would be needed to authorize any state militia to be armed; just as no provision of the Constitution was needed to authorize the arming of the Army and Navy.

But then we're dealing with the federal courts who find rights where the Constitution is silent and disregard plain language where the Constitution is explicit because they view the Constitution as a "living" document; translation, it means what we say it means, not what it says.

14 posted on 06/10/2002 10:54:05 AM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: itsahoot
Actually, it matters a great deal. The more people discover the truth about why the founders bequeathed us the rights they did in the Constitution, the better off we will all be. It is crtical to argue from strength when supporting something against which powerful forces are arrayed, such as the right to keep and bear arms. Strength comes from confidence, which comes from knowledge — from knowing one is on the right side of the argument and of history.

Why do people who are upset that the Supreme Court refused to hear the latest gun-rights case assume that any ruling would have been positive for the preservation 2nd Amendment rights? A negative ruling by the Supreme Court would make matters infinitely worse. Better that they stay out of it and allow 226 years of precedent stand untouched.

15 posted on 06/10/2002 10:55:14 AM PDT by Wolfstar
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To: Green Knight
I don't know how to bookmark it to a FR homepage, but you can bookmark it via your browser. If you are using Internet Explorer, click on "favorites" in your menu bar. Then choose "add to favorites" and save the link where you wish.
16 posted on 06/10/2002 10:57:20 AM PDT by Wolfstar
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To: coloradan
Knew I was missing something! Thanks!
17 posted on 06/10/2002 11:00:44 AM PDT by Green Knight
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To: colorado tanker
(1) With respect, actually there were NO police forces anywere in the world in the founders' era. Police forces as we understand them today only began to evolve in the mid-1800's, as thousands of people began leaving rural areas for the cities during the Industrial Revolution. However, as long as there have been human beings on the planet, the defense of a community was the responsibility of all able-bodied people — usually the men, but not always. Gradually, as peole gathered in towns and cities, groups of people were organized into what evolved into militias, which date at least to the late Roman period. The notion that individuals should not be armed for their self-defense and other legitimate purposes is a very, very recent phenomenon human history.

(2) If judges have lost their history and common sense, we the people can re-learn our history and retain our own common sense. We must re-learn the fact that their power comes from us, and act accordingly rather than just sit passively and watch the parade of civic affairs pass us by.

18 posted on 06/10/2002 11:11:03 AM PDT by Wolfstar
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To: Wolfstar
I agree with you. I qualified my statement about police forces because I figured if the progressive citizens of Somewhere, Massachusetts, had formed a police force in 1776, I would hear about it!

We must return to teaching Americans about there own history. By the seventh grade (her last year of public school) my daughter had been taught multiple units on African history, flora and fauna, but still couldn't name the 50 states and capitals.

19 posted on 06/10/2002 11:30:03 AM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: Wolfstar
Why do people who are upset that the Supreme Court refused to hear the latest gun-rights case assume that any ruling would have been positive for the preservation 2nd Amendment rights?

The Supreme Court just refused to review two cases that
could have settled this issue.
Note the use of the word could in the original post.
I in fact suffer no dillusions that any branch of the Federal
Government, will do anything to let the citizens rearm themselves.
20 posted on 06/10/2002 11:38:10 AM PDT by itsahoot
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