Wry Catcher
Diamond Member
- Banned
- #561
The 2nd Amendment can be definitively paraphrased thus: The individual states have a right to defend themselves through maintenance of state militias. That being said, the Declaration of Independence acknowledges that individuals have an inalienable right to protect themselves. Unless/until the government can guarantee their personal safety, individuals have an inherent right to defend themselves by any reasonable means.
P.S. I don't give a shit how some judge "interprets" the plain language of these documents.
I suggest you read this essay on the 2nd A.:
A grammar lesson for gun nuts: Second Amendment does not guarantee gun rights
Saclia had one opinion, that expressed in the Heller Decision; Chief Justice John Marshall another.
I can give you an expert who disagrees
Roy Copperud was a newspaper writer on major dailies for over three decades before embarking on a distinguished seventeen-year career teaching journalism at USC. Since 1952, Copperud has been writing a column dealing with the professional aspects of journalism for Editor and Publisher, a weekly magazine focusing on the journalism field.
He's on the usage panel of the American Heritage Dictionary, and Merriam Webster's Usage Dictionary frequently cites him as an expert. Copperud's fifth book on usage, American Usage and Style: The Consensus, has been in continuous print from Van Nostrand Reinhold since 1981, and is the winner of the Association of American Publishers' Humanities Award.
That sounds like an expert to me. and he says
The sentence does not restrict the right to keep and bear arms, nor does it state or imply possession of the right elsewhere or by others than the people; it simply makes a positive statement with respect to a right of the people.
Keep and Bear Arms - Gun Owners Home Page - 2nd Amendment Supporters
He may be an expert, but he did not (nor have you) posted anything more than what you've argued in the past.
- Why is the clause "a well regulated Militia" included? If the intent was for all of the people to legally possess all of the weapons of war, why was this clause included?
- Why would they have needed to mention a, "well regulated Militia", and what do you infer from its inclusion?