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To: neverdem

I strongly support the originalist philosophy. Thomas Jefferson warned against new interpretations of the Constitution and recommended an originalist viewpoint:

“On every question of construction (of the Constitution) let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invent against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.” - Thomas Jefferson to William Johnson, June 12, 1823.

One of the arguments that the left has used against the 2nd Amendment has been that gun ownership has to be associated with membership in a “well-regulated militia.”

At the time of the Bill of Rights, there was no National Guard. The militia was simply - Everyone. Or as James Mason put it: ““I ask sir, what is the militia? It is the whole body of the people except for a few public officials. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them…”

And Noah Webster (1758-1843) American patriot and scholar, author of the 1806 edition of the dictionary that bears his name, defined the militia similarly as “the effective part of the people at large.”

So, the intent of the founding fathers was that the militia was EVERYONE. And the term “well-regulated” didn’t mean (as the liberals would love to believe) buried under an avalance of laws and regulations. It meant well-trained and disciplined.

Here’s a nice summary of the originalist meaning of the 2nd Amnedment. http://www.guncite.com/gc2ndmea.html


15 posted on 06/08/2009 2:58:51 PM PDT by PBinTX
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To: PBinTX

Thanks for the link.


16 posted on 06/08/2009 5:48:33 PM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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