Like every other story, there has to be a beginning, and as far as I have found (with much help from the Second Amendment Law Library) the story begins with the Virginia Bill of Rights.
Pennsylvania appears to have been the first colony to have used the phrase "A right to bear arms"
7. That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and their own state, or the United States, or for the purpose of killing game; and no law shall be passed for disarming the people or any of them, unless for crimes committed, or real danger of public injury from individuals; and as standing armies in the time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up: and that the military shall be kept under strict subordination to and be governed by the civil powers.
"Twelfth, Congress shall never disarm any Citizen unless such as are or have been in Actual Rebellion. —
"Seventeenth, That the people have a right to keep and bear arms; that a well regulated Militia composed of the body of the people trained to arms is the proper, natural and safe defence of a free State. That standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, and therefore ought to be avoided, as far as the circumstances and protection of the Community will admit; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to and governed by the Civil power."
"That the People have a right to keep and bear Arms; that a well regulated Militia, including the body of the People capable of bearing Arms, is the proper, natural and safe defence of a free State;"
Editor's Note: The North Carolina Convention met from July 21 through August 4, 1788, but after debate agreed only to neither ratify or reject the Constitution, but did adopt a resolution containing a Declaration of Rights and a list of proposed Amendments to the Constitution on August 2, 1788. After the Constitution had been ratified by a sufficient number of states, the members of the convention reconvened and, apparently without further debate, ratified the Constitution November 21, 1789, and announced the Declaration below, which includes the resolution of August 2, 1788.
"17th. That the people have a right to keep and bear arms; that a well regulated militia composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural and safe defence of a free state. That standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to Liberty, and therefore ought to be avoided, as far as the circumstances and protection of the community will admit; and that in all cases, the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by the civil power.
"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country: but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person."
""A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, being the best security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, but no person religiously scrupulous shall be compelled to bear arms."
"A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the People, being the best security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed, but no one religiously scrupulous of bearing arms, shall be compelled to render military service in person."
"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."
"Article the fourth . . . 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."
Twelve amendments were proposed, and ten adopted, effective December 15, 1791. Those ten became known as the Bill of Rights, and their ratification is celebrated as Bill of Rights Day.
The conventions of a number of the States having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added.
Article the fourth [Amendment II]
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.
Another good article is: The Second Amendment and the Historiography of the Bill of Rights by David T. Hardy
One might add, that the philosophy recognized by the author as pertaining to private arms, and a citizenry responsible for preserving their freedom, is the same philosophy of individual responsibility that made the American economic miracle materialize.
In every particular, the Founding Fathers trusted our future to responsible individuals. As we lose that sense of individual responsibility, we lose everything that made America unique. Since that original sense arose in a major sense from the actual experiences of the pre-Revolutionary Settler societies; once really lost, it is extremely unlikely that the urbanized multi-cultured, polyglot population of today, will ever recover it. The idiotic pursuit of restricted private arms closely parallels the overall assault upon our Cultural heritage.
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site
The ACLU is resting their entire argument on Supreme Court rulings that do not exist. I usually offer a thousand dollars to any person who can cite a US Supreme Court decision that says this.
Anyone want to guess whether I'll ever write that check?
Signed, dazed and confused.
5.56mm