January 2011 - A Bloody Month to Remember
Tuesday, February 1st, 2011Chat Noir Socks
January 2011- A Month to Remember
Once again a crazed gunman has killed innocent people and the US politicians did nothing. Why? This is because they completely fear the gun lobby. The American habit of worshipng guns comes from the second amendment in the US Constitution, which reads as follows “[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.” Substitute the word “State” for “people “and this amendment becomes quite clear. The member States of the United States can each maintain their own militia. However, the word “people” was used instead. Hence the current confusion about what the Second Amendment actually allows. Almost, unlimited gun ownership the gun lobby says. Merely the right for States to have a militia, gun control opponents claim.
What did the Founders of the United States government actually intend in the Second Amendment? The Founders were all white men who owned a lot of property and often many slaves. Nothing unusual about this in 1789. It was a time when the wealthy unquestionably ruled society. Everyone else either worked for, or were owned by them. If the young Arizona man who killed six people and seriously injured a Congresswoman had done this in 1789, he probably would have been tried, convicted, and hanged within a month. That’s how justice worked back then.
The Founders preferred a stable society above all else. That’s why they replaced the ineffective Articles of Confederation with the US Constitution. The Articles gave each State almost sovereign power. They could tax goods brought in from another State for example. National unity and, more importantly, national commerce were jeopardized under this chaotic system. The US Constitution created a strong Federal government, but gave the States many powers also. Allowing them to keep their own militia was a strong incentive to keep the Federal government in check.
I have a hard time believing that the wealthy Founders supported almost unlimited gun ownership by all private citizens. These guns could too easily be turned again the wealthy by unruly mobs with grievances. Instead, I think they wanted the States to have a wide latitude in organizing their militias. One State might have a small full-time professional militia. Another might use citizen soldiers, who trained part of the year and lived as civilians the rest of the time. That is the model for today’s National Guard, the modern descendant of the militia. Allowing all responsible citizens to keep guns at home and rally whenever a threat appeared could be another option. The State would determine which of its citizens could own a gun.
Guns were common in 1789 America. They were used in hunting food, protecting livestock, self-defense and also against the yet unconquered Native Americans. Today in our increasingly urban society, guns are used primarily for sport hunting and self-defense. The sheer number of guns owned by private citizens makes it easy for criminals and curious kids to obtain one. It is my opinion that the Founders would not have tolerated all the problems our lax gun laws have brought upon us. In the future, more crazy people will use their easily obtained guns to kill again. And the politicians again will probably do little.
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