Amendment II- 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 upon.
This is known as the Right to Bear Arms, and has been a point of contention between political ideologies for the past thirty years. The argument comes over the definition of the word Militia’.
Liberals and Socialists claim that this term refers to the National Guard, and that individuals do NOT have the right to own and carry firearms. Let us examine the term Militia in historical context, in order to shed some light on the situation.
The founding fathers had just won a long, bloody struggle against their government. Of course, they wanted to ensure that no Government would ever be able to tyrannically oppress its citizens in the newly-freed United States, as the Crown had previously done with the Colonists.
There are several definitions of Militia”, but the best one that fits the historical context is this: Militia- a body of citizens organized in a paramilitary group for the purpose of defending individual rights against the interference of the Government. In other words, the founding fathers wanted the citizens to have military-type weapons; so that in the event the government tried to take away their rights, the people could revolt.
Need more proof? Consider the following quotes from Thomas Jefferson;
“Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state.”
” Every generation needs a new revolution.”
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
“For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.”
These quotes clearly illustrate just what our founding fathers meant by Militia, and just what their intent behind this Amendment was. Note that the Amendment goes on to say, “the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
Infringed’ means violated, encroached or trespassed upon. So in other words, the Government is not allowed to do anything to limit, restrict, or stop us from owning any type of arms we see fit. Does this mean I can park a Sherman tank in my front yard? Absolutely!
When we take the time to examine this Civil Right, it is abundantly clear that ALL gun control laws are unconstitutional. Citizens may NOT be restricted from keeping and bearing arms.
What about violent felons? Should they be allowed to carry guns? No, of course not! Yet, if their offense is so great that they cannot be trusted with firearms, then their citizenship should be revoked, and they should be immediately exiled. That way, the interests of public safety are served while the Constitutional rights of the rest of the citizenry are preserved.
I believe that this Amendment is the most important of all the Rights granted to us as American citizens, because it gives us the power to resist a corrupt Government who is actively seeking to destroy our great Nation.