Memories of the 28th Century

I just ran across a quote from Warren Burger regarding the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: the Second Amendment "has been the subject of one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American public," saying that the "right to bear arms" is a right of the states or state militias like the National Guard, not of individuals. They argue that the well-regulated militia clause in the Second Amendment is a restriction on the declaration of the right, and that "well-regulated" means "regulated by the state government".
http://constitution.org/col/5529_col.htm

Justice Burger was partly right, but he didn’t go into the matter completely. He neglected an important part. In the original states, and maybe in later ones, all of the adult men were members of the militia. This is still true in Massachusetts and a few other states. Therefore, the language of the Second Amendment more than just supports that argument that firearms should be legal; it implies that all adult men should be required to own a firearm and to practice enough so that their shooting should be accurate; that is, well regulated.

I don’t know whether Justice Warren was engaging in fraud or just mistaken, but it is perfectly clear, if we look at material from the early days of the country that all of the people make up the militia. Consider George Mason’s comments on the matter.
George Mason, co-author of the Second Amendment
“I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.” – Speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 14, 1778
https://www.thefederalistpapers.org/.../the-founding...

We might also consider the comments of Samuel Adams:
“And that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms; or to raise standing armies, unless necessary for the defense of the United States, or of some one or more of them; or to prevent the people from petitioning, in a peaceable and orderly manner, the federal legislature, for a redress of grievances; or to subject the people to unreasonable searches and seizures of their persons, papers or possessions.” – Debates of the Massachusetts Convention of February 6, 1788; Debates and Proceedings in the Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1788 (Pierce & Hale, eds., Boston, 1850)
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/cha...ranscript.html

Declaration of Independence
“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,”
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/cha...ranscript.html

George Washington:
“It may be laid down, as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every citizen who enjoys the protection of a free government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even of his personal services to the defence of it, and consequently that the Citizens of America (with a few legal and official exceptions) from 18 to 50 Years of Age should be borne on the Militia Rolls, provided with uniform Arms, and so far accustomed to the use of them, that the Total strength of the Country might be called forth at Short Notice on any very interesting Emergency.” – Sentiments on a Peace Establishment in a letter to Alexander Hamilton, May 2, 1783; The Writings of George Washington [1938], edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 26, p. 289
https://www.thefederalistpapers.org/...cond-amendment

I do not own any firearms myself, and I probably should regard that as a sin against my country. I am willing to defend my country, and I do that regularly in writing pieces such as this one, but I would be willing to take up arms to defend the country also.

I get the impression that most Americans regard the U.S. government as something outside, a separate force, but the U.S. government should be something that is made up of all of the people, as is the militia. Or maybe the states should be made up of their citizens, and the central government is an alliance of those fifty states. Regardless of that, the government is not an outside force; it is us, and the employees and officials of the government should remember who they work for, and we citizens should hold them to account.

If government, at all levels, were to keep in mind that it exists for the benefit of the people, then the country might be a little more cooperative. Over time the government has, as an institution, come to regard itself as the authority, the source of authority and principles, as the parent enforcing its will on the children, the citizens. The U.S. government doesn’t exist to be the authority; it exists to provide tools for the people to live their lives as they think best and to coordinate activities that are too big for the states and individuals to carry out. The matter of the right to bear arms is a side issue. The people have the duty of common defense, and the federal government has the responsibility to coordinate such defense.

Individuals also have the fundamental right to self-preservation, which is a natural right derived from the basic instinct for self-preservation, and we should also consider the right to bear arms in the light of that instinct.

Please keep in mind that I am not advocating that everyone should be required to pack heat, but we need to remember that all of us are responsible for our country, for out states, and for our local governments, and government of all types should, as an institution, remember that it exists for no reason except to serve the people, and government employees should keep that in mind at all times. That means that the rights of the people should be respected and abusive laws and regulations should be eliminated. Alas, there are many things that should be that are not.