“A Well Regulated Militia”
Amendment II to The Constitution of the United States of America reads:
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.
The only “well regulated militia” we have in 2015 is each state’s National Guard, whose history is recorded on the site of The National Guard.
The National Guard, the oldest component of the Armed Forces of the United States and one of the nation’s longest-enduring institutions, celebrated its 370th birthday on December 13, 2006. The National Guard traces its history back to the earliest English colonies in North America. Responsible for their own defense, the colonists drew on English military tradition and organized their able-bodied male citizens into militias.
The colonial militias protected their fellow citizens from Indian attack, foreign invaders, and later helped to win the Revolutionary War.
Following independence, the authors of the Constitution empowered Congress to “provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia.”
However, recognizing the militia’s state role, the Founding Fathers reserved the appointment of officers and training of the militia to the states. Today’s National Guard still remains a dual state-Federal force.
[Source: The National Guard]
How is it that a gun manufacturers’ lobbying group has convinced voters that each person in our nation has a constitutional right to own and use a gun?
Because the people specifically authorized that right — by our Constitution — are the men and women who serve in our country’s sole regulated militia: The National Guard.
October 14th, 2015 at 4:20 pm
Exactly. The U.S. Supreme Court expanded private citizen gun ownership greatly in 2008. Here’s a bit of history of the NRA: http://www.alternet.org/suprising-unknown-history-nra