Meaning of the words in the Second Amendment
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No militias needed in Texas. They have a lot of big Posses.
Colonial militia via Wiki
Most Colonial militia units were provided neither arms nor uniforms, and were required to equip themselves. Many simply wore their own farmers' or workmans' clothes, and in some cases they wore cloth hunting frocks. Most used fowling pieces, though rifles were sometimes used where available. Neither fowling pieces nor rifles had bayonets. Some colonies purchased muskets, cartridge boxes, and bayonets from England, and maintained armories within the colony.
The Continental Army regulars received European-style military training later in the American Revolutionary War, but the militias did not get much of this. Rather than fight formal battles in the traditional dense lines and columns, they were better when used as irregulars, primarily as skirmishers and sharpshooters. When used in conjunction with continental regulars, the militia would frequently fire ragged irregular volleys from a forward skirmish line or the flanks of the Continental Army, while Continental soldiers held the center.
This is the militia of the second amendment. No mention of the Continental Army or National Guard.
So the milita was used as a weapon of war by the regular army, and that milita was made up of farmers and towns folks.
An interesting fact of modern day militias, is state defense forces; I won't go on and on about our Virginia Defense Force(Minutemen), but it is in fact commanded from the Governor's desk. If activated they are paid, if REALLY activated they are armed. I've been contemplating joining. They ease the age and physical limits of recruitment, allowing people a second chance at serving (perfect for me). It's primary function is backup for the Nat Guard. If the Guard gets activated, everyone just takes a step forward, and now YOU are the Guard, but for the state only.
(Ugh! What am I thinking!? Tax widow, dog rescue, cub scouts, misc volunteer work, 2 little kids in school...)
The words don't mean much to Democrats in Illinois. They are trying to ram through a couple of insane gun control bills.
Illinois has a lot of honest law abiding criminals. Ask Bloggo.Quote:
Originally Posted by deathb4disco
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.
IMHO ... if they had used the word "and" in place of the comma, there would be less debate on what all was being covered by this amendment. It would read like this :
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.
But, if it was made more grammatically correct, with accompanying correct punctuation ... it would read like this:
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.
That way it separates the two ideas ... militia for state protection AND right of common people to keep/bear arms ... (both) shall not be infringed upon. Period, end of discussion.
... cp :kewl
Grammar then vs grammar now. Read Article 4 of the Articles of Confederation. It is about interpretation.
I dunno, CP. The liberal mind can somehow find the right to abortion in the Constitution but manages to completely miss this:Quote:
Originally Posted by crappiepappy
"... the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."
You spelled that wrong, CP! :ThumbsUp EBQuote:
Originally Posted by Cane Pole
it seems like to me that these areas that have very tough gun laws also have a very large crime rate
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eager Beaver
You got a dirty mind!nonono