The Second Amendment, Annotated

[Joshua M. Smith]

Hello,

I wrote the following hoping some of you might be able to use it. I've been told recently that history doesn't matter since we're living now; I disagree.

This is my work. You have my permission to pass it around. You may add to it if you wish, but please do not delete anything. Keep my name etc.

Annotated Second Amendment

1. A well-regulated militia (men 17-45, supplying their own small arms and drilling, at least in theory, with some regularity)


2. Necessary to the security of a free State (providing for the common defense; first responders in an armed crisis)


3. The right OF THE PEOPLE (not the right of the "militia", but the right of THE PEOPLE, who comprise the militia; The People remain armed regardless of the existence of an organized Militia; The People must retain the ability to raise a militia)


4. To keep and bear arms (historically, those arms in common use by infantry in militias and militaries at any given time, not just 1776, given the stated mission of the militia)


5. Shall not be infringed (self-explanatory; the British tried to deprive the colonies of powder and arms so they could be subjugated; this sparked a hot war)

Regards,
Josh

 

[Tommygunn]

You might mention a definition of "infringed," since I don't think anything is really "self explanatory."

INFRINGE: 1.) To intrude upon or into, 2.) To diminish.

There is a basic defintion, from my Oxford American Dictionary, so it isn't "my" defintion, but from one with some objective authority.

 

[Cump]

Whenever I annotate the Second as part of a discussion, I make the grammatical point that the independent (stand-alone) clause is "The Right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Anti-gun readings generally miss this point and treat the Militia clause as the independent clause. Scalia was right that the militia clause, as prefatory clause, does not grammatically restrict the independent clause. Where he was wrong, I think, is that it is not insignificant for interpretation. It instead provides prefatory context for the independent clause, giving an idea of the militia arms protected and the civic goal of the RKBA.

 

[9mmepiphany]

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