ON THE CUTTING EDGE: No Second-Guessing The Second Amendment
In
Gun control advocates point to the militia clause of the Second Amendment, arguing that it warrants a collective, rather than an individual, right to keep and bear arms.
However, history - buttressed by the founders' clear understanding - dictates that the amendment guarantees this right to individuals. …
When adopted by the states, the Second Amendment generated no controversy. State and federal militia laws required citizens to keep arms and ammunition in their homes.
The greater concern, as articulated by the great orator
The bearing of arms was both a right and responsibility of citizenship, with arms being legally denied to those who were not citizens.
The very idea that citizens might be barred from militia membership was itself an indication of tyranny.
Other commentaries in the series include free-speech advocate Nat Hentoff, on the First Amendment; Virginia Attorney General Robert F.
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February 6, 2007
The Stiletto wrote:
Several states permit judges to pack heat in court for their own protection. These states include Florida, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, and Texas. On Jan. 1, Kansas is set to permit judges to carry concealed firearms in the courtroom. State senator and practicing attorney Phillip Journey, who wrote the bill, tells The National Law Journal, "Guns are like lawyers: Better to have one and not need it than need one and not have it." No doubt citizens in those states feel the same way, and judges in most of them do not enjoy Second Amendment rights that state ...
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