Second Amendment - Break It Down

Let’s take a quick look at the Second Amendment. This is a commonly misinterpreted item in the Bill of Rights. This can be expected with language that was written over 200 years ago where meanings and grammar change over the generations. Here is the actual text:

“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 anti-gun groups like to claim that this establishes a “militia” and does not apply to the individual. This is completely false. The first portion is a statement of fact, that a “militia” or military must be maintained and controlled by the government in order for the country as a whole to remain free. Remember that at the time this was written, it was common for European countries, where our forefathers came from, to battle with each other over land and ideals. In order for a country to protect itself from another, they must have armies, or as described here a “militia”. It does not talk about the National Guard as the anti-gunners like to claim. The National Guard did not exist at the time and was not created until 130 years later. The National Guard is simply an extension of the existing military.

Why do we need to state the fact that the government needs a military? Well, at the time these people were living under a government which used the military to control people for the benefit of the ruler. The people were not allowed to bear arms as this would give them the ability to fight back. They were subjects of the government. However, when they broke free, they realized that the government must have a military to defend itself from outside forces, yet they must protect the citizens within from the government using the military against its own people. Hence, the rest of the amendment comes into play.

The right of the People to bear arms. This means that the individual citizens are allowed to be armed. This balancing of power between the government military and the people is to ensure that the government does not become abusive like the governments of Europe were. The government knows that the people can successfully revolt. This right further allows for the people the means to protect themselves against criminals as well as to hunt. It was quite some time before the box grocery stores would show up.

That’s all there is to it. The government will have a military and the people will be armed. Don’t try to read any more or less into it.