Guns and Lilies— What does the 2nd Amendment Really Say?

Last updated on: August 4, 2022 at 1:52 am by Ben Witherington

Guns and Lilies— What does the 2nd Amendment Really Say? 2022-07-12T08:21:03-04:00 Ben Witherington

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There is so much false information out there about the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution that I thought I would simply print what it actually says and what Constitutional scholars say it meant according to the original intent of the framers of the Constitution. Here is what it actually says….

“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.”

But what was the original intent of the Second Amendment?

- Many historians agree that the primary reason for passing the Second Amendment was to prevent the need for the United States to have a professional standing army. At the time it was passed, it seems it was not intended to grant a right for private individuals to keep weapons for self-defense. In other words, it was intended to allow the colonies which became states to have a militia, which we today would call the National Guard. It was intended to protect the federal government from having to spend a fortune to maintain a national standing army…. which we ended up doing anyway. And this is where things get twisted.
- Somewhere along the line the Supreme Court decided to go against the original intent of the legislation and suggest it included or mainly referred to the right of a private individual to protect himself or herself. One big problem— a private individual is not a militia. This requires an organized group of people.
- Even then, the Founding Fathers could not have imagined authorizing private citizens to own and carry military grade weapons such as the AR-15. Those would indeed be reserved for the army, the militia, and the police. And it still should be that way. Things have gotten so far removed from the original intent of the 2nd Amendment that the Supreme Court is even prepare to hear cases about a private citizen having the right to carry a concealed weapon. Clearly, the Founding Fathers had no problems with private citizens having pistols or hunting rifles, and neither do I. But it’s time for test legislation and legal cases to be taken to the Supreme Court that forces the court to do a rethink on the scope and meaning of the 2nd Amendment.
- It is also time for legislators in the House and the Senate to stop taking money from lobbying groups including the representatives of the NRA. That needs to stop.
- If we are serious about stopping even teens and the mentally ill from getting hold of high capacity magazines and weapons like the AR-15 then something needs to be done with the laws of this land and with the decisions of the Supreme Court. The Law just passed in Congress is barely a start in the right direction. There needs to be a ban on military weapons in the hands of private citizens, and a governmental buy back program like in Australia to get these weapons out of general circulation. If we do not do this, there will be blood on all our hands, including the blood of our children and grandchildren.
- It is also time for the nonsense talk of politicians to stop. For example, there has been much talk about ‘hardening’ schools. Well this will accomplish little unless we are also hardening malls, shopping centers, grocery stores, sports arenas and I could go on. And the only reason this is even proposed is because said politicians like Ted Cruz don’t want to take away military weapons from private citizens. Let’s be honest about this.
- Enough is enough America! It’s time for all of us, including responsible gun owners and even members of the NRA to stand up and make some changes in our laws. The majority of Americans in poll after poll want this. I am hoping that the ongoing turmoil from the incidents in Uvalde, and Buffalo and Highland Park and Pittsburgh and elsewhere will finally result in enough pressure to get Congress to do more than it has already done. Otherwise, the carnage will continue.

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