Gary Wills wrote this article for the New York Review of Books in 1995. He brings deep knowledge and analysis to the Second Amendment. Worth your time to read in full.
My thoughts:
The Second Amendment does not authorize the overthrow of the Federal Government by force of arms. Therefore, private militias formed to defend against the government or to overthrow the government are unconstitutional. Those raving nutbags with their compounds and guns are treasonous. As Wills says, no government sets itself up with provisions for its overthrow!
A group of paid shills for the NRA and the weapons industry put together the arguments that seem to show that there should be no regulation of gun ownership and that this right is tied to our freedoms, especially against the tyranny of government. That is nonsense, but it is a widely held notion among gun nuts.
The "right of the people" at the time the Bill of Rights was framed did not mean everyone. It was never meant to define the right of individuals to own guns, one way or the other. The implications are that the Constitution says nothing about private gun ownership, which means that all non-military gun ownership and use can be regulated by common law and other legal means.
The Fix
@TheFix
Turn on CSPAN. This is AWESOME stuff if you are a political nerd.
Bah! I turned on C-Span to watch what was going on on the floor of the House of Reps, but all I saw was a bunch of white men in dark suits and a few women and little girls milling around. And a woman talking to Nancy Pelosi while applying lip balm to her mouth. Pelosi gracious as usual, but a lot of people there well dressed but quite undignified. This is a historical moment?
Now they have switched the camera to the people around Biden. More women, so it's colorful, but not much going on. Hmm. Guess I got here too late for the action. I'll watch the gussied up version of today's events on the evening news.
How many more ideals are we Americans going to have to give up? Even seeing how ordinary these people really are does not stop us from trying to make heroes (or villains) out of them.
Oh, I heard a gavel. Back later. Ho hum. Just the roll count, giving the office of Speaker of the House to John Boehner. Yawn. I'm sorry, Mr. Morency, but this is not awesome.Ugh. Just saw Paul Ryan, looking smug, and now people are applauding Boehner, who is about to speak. Turning it off!!!
Update:
WASHINGTON: John Boehner is re-elected House Speaker after promising Republicans he will be "a bigger asshole from now on."
This I like.
Related to the newspaper map showing the names and addresses of reigstered gun owners
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/04/ann-coulter-guns-women-abortions-mothers-murder-child_n_2408584.html
Posted by: Brandon | January 05, 2013 at 01:04 AM