Note: Originally published April 21, 2009.
“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.”
The first two amendments to the Constitution are the most familiar to the general public, largely because the are the most frequently under attack. Whether it is freedom of religion, speech, or the right to keep and bear arms, groups like the ACLU can be found on the assault against these basic American rights. There is a reason that these two amendments are under so frequent attack. The first and second amendments contain the core of the freedoms promised within the BIll of Rights. It is these rights that comprise the very foundation of this nation. The first and second, particularly the second, provide for the means to defend and retake those rights if the government should exceed it bounds.
To understand the single right outlined in the second amendment it is helpful to break down the various pieces, define each, then re-connect the pieces to finally asses the meaning outlined by our founders. It should be noted that this is being done quite frequently in courts and congresses across the nation, with definitions shifting depending on the purpose of those participating in the debate. For our purpose, we’ll stick to the basics for the simple reason that the truth can usually be found in the simplest of forms.
“A well regulated Militia...” There are two key words here, regulated and Militia. Regulated means to control or supervise through the use or application of regulations or laws. A militia is an assembled civilian force, raised from the population to supplement an army, or a civilian group raised in rebellion against a standing army. Thus a well regulated militia is a civilian military force controlled or supervised through the application of rules and laws. It is not our standing army, as some have argued, and it is not an outdated concept from the American Revolution, as it is designed to supplement any standing army, including today’s advanced US Military forces. The part that concerns those who stand opposed to freedom and liberty is the idea that the a militia can be used in a revolutionary cause as well as supporting the standing army.
The Founders understood that their ideas for this government were revolutionary. For the first time the power of government was in the hands of the governed. The Founders also understood that there would be some who would try to usurp that power. At that time it might be necessary for the people to rise up against tyranny and once again defend their rights in order to restore this nation to its foundations. They knew as well that if the government had the authority to disarm the civilian populace, the hope of that rebellion, if needed, would be lost. That is the reason for the next part of the amendment, “... being necessary to the security of a free State...”. History is filled with examples where the populace was crushed due to a lack of arms (India) or created their own weapons to restore their freedoms (Scotland, Japan). The Founding Fathers wanted to ensure that there was a last line of defense against tyranny. That last defense would be an armed, regulated, civilian militia.
This takes us to the real action statement, “...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Keeping in mind that the purpose of the Bill of Rights is to protect the rights of the people against an oppressive government, it is clear that the purpose of this amendment is to protect the rights of the people from any “infringement” of the government against this right. To “infringe” means to, “act so as to limit or undermine (something); encroach on...”. The choice of the word “infringe” was not made lightly. In this context it means that the right to bear arms shall not be limited, undermined, or encroached on. It means that laws that limit the type of weapons, that undermine the ability of citizens to obtain weapons, or that encroach on a person’s ability to own weapons are a violation of the second amendment. It means that the majority of today’s gun laws, enacted or under consideration, are truly unconstitutional.
The second amendment follows the first because it is designed to provide the people’s last line of defense against a government that is overstepping its bounds. The first amendment protects the five core rights that are the foundation of this nation; freedom of religion, free speech, a free press, freedom of assembly, and the right to petition the government. The second amendment protects only one right, the right to defend the people against an encroachment by the government on the foundations of our nation. The founders did not do this by accident. They knew from experience that disarming the population was a sure way to control the population. They knew from history, including their own, that an armed militia was the last defense against an oppressive regime. They set this particular right aside within the Bill of Rights to ensure that the freedoms they had outlined in the Constitution could be defended. Our right to keep and bear arms ensures the other rights in the Constitution. It is, “...necessary to the security of a free State...”. If we lose our right to bear arms, if we continue to allow this or any government to continue to infringe on this last line of defense, we have surrendered our nation to the tyrants, and we deserve our fate.
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