The Second Amendment

http://hematite.com/dragon/2ndamend.html#USC2A

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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.
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A Semantic Analysis of the 2nd Amendment
For those people who argue that they have read the Second Amendment and “see” a militia right, a state right, or something other than an individual right, the analysis by a linguistics expert should be enlightening. Author J. Neil Schulman did just that. As an author, his profession and stock-in-trade is the use of words and language, just as any lawyer. So he put the Second Amendment to a test by a credible authority. Here is J. Neil Schulman’s The Unabridged Second Amendment.

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The Embarrassing Second Amendment
Yet another study of the 2nd Amendment comes not from some right-wing conservative source, but from a liberal one. Sanford Levinson is a liberal constitutional scholar who wrote The Embarrassing Second Amendment. This work by Mr. Levinson deserves applause not only for it’s soundness, but for his ability to put aside his own politics.

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States also Guarantee Gun Ownership
The whole argument would be much simpler if we were arguing only about the Federal Constitution. Unfortunately, another place where those who seek to abolish gun ownership find trouble is in the constitutions of individual states. Forty three states (86%) include a version of the Second Amendment in their own constitutions. As pointed out in the 1982 Senate report, some of these state constitutions pre-date our Federal constitution. If that isn’t bad enough, many of these states go beyond merely copying the U.S. Constitution’s wording, making it clear and plain, as in the case of Arizona:

“The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or the State shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain, or employ an armed body of men.”
Ariz. Const. Art. 2, Sect. 26

No one can read that and deny that the right of every person who is a citizen of the State of Arizona has the right to keep and bear (carry) arms. Other states have made it clear in their constitutions that this right is for the purposes of defense of the individual, his family and properties and for the defense of the state. Note that the state of Virginia adds the phrase “trained to arms”, meaning a citizenry who have been trained in the use of firearms and know how to shoot. Historically, this usually meant being taught by a father, brother or other elder and schooled in the safe handling of arms.

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Second Amendment History – U.S. Senate Report.
But perhaps nothing is so convincing as the history of the Second Amendment itself. Documentation from several sources indicate that the Second Amendment to the Constitution means exactly what gun owners have been saying for years.

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As you read the rather long historical review of the Second Amendment in the 1982 Senate Report keep in mind that several of the most vocal gun control activists in the U.S. Senate were part of the committee, to wit;
JOSEPH R. BIDEN , Delaware
HOWARD M. METZENBAUM, Ohio
EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts

And these Senators, after producing this document, still worked for the removal of firearms from the hands of law-abiding Americans under the guise of “crime control”. I should note that several Congressional committees have heard testimony from experts, including Police Chiefs, that most so called “gun control” bills do little to stem violent crime, even crimes with firearms. (As soon as I can find electronic copies, I will post these too).