13 ms·

>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 first stat

>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 first statement is not at all a limitation of the second, but is rather a justification of the second. I agree that there needs to be gun control, but it should be done through a constitutional amendment, rather than by a misinterpretation of what is currently there.

JoeAltmaier 13y ago
And the interpretation of 'militia' is often muddied. Consider the definition below. Which was meant? Plenty of room to argue there. It was likely the 3rd definition meant 200 years ago, and continues to be the threshold required to earn a 'carry permit' in many states. n. An army composed of ordinary citizens rather than professional soldiers. n. A military force that is not part of a regular army and is subject to call for service in an emergency. n. The whole body of physically fit civilians eligible by law for military service.
- hga 13y ago
  Well, the same Congress that passed the Bill of Rights also passed the first militia act, basically all able bodied men up to age 45 as I recall. As it stands today, per 10 U.S. Code § 311: "The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard. (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/311 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/311) Following that, the unorganized militia are the above minus those in the National Guard or the Naval Militia. Per modern interpretation of Federal law, this now probably includes women.
  - maxcan 13y ago
    Women aren't compelled to register for the selective service, so, perhaps not.
    - hga 13y ago
      Indeed, and as I recall there's some Federal case law pertaining to that, which is why I said "perhaps". But the flip side is that attitudes today would not say that a woman "taking up arms" like men do is illegitimate. See, e.g., the one law that failed in the recent Colorado gun grabbing batch, that would have banned concealed carry at public colleges (note the minimum age for a licence is 21). Women did not like being told they weren't fit to carry to defend themselves against rape and made a compelling case. Evie Hudak, the woman legislator who took point on the opposite side, had to resign so that she wouldn't be recalled like two previous state senators, replaced with a Republican, and flip control of the state senate.

JoeAltmaier 13y ago

And the interpretation of 'militia' is often muddied. Consider the definition below. Which was meant? Plenty of room to argue there. It was likely the 3rd definition meant 200 years ago, and continues to be the threshold required to earn a 'carry permit' in many states. n. An army composed of ordinary citizens rather than professional soldiers. n. A military force that is not part of a regular army and is subject to call for service in an emergency. n. The whole body of physically fit civilians eligible by law for military service.

hga 13y ago
Well, the same Congress that passed the Bill of Rights also passed the first militia act, basically all able bodied men up to age 45 as I recall. As it stands today, per 10 U.S. Code § 311: "The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard. (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/311 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/311) Following that, the unorganized militia are the above minus those in the National Guard or the Naval Militia. Per modern interpretation of Federal law, this now probably includes women.
- maxcan 13y ago
  Women aren't compelled to register for the selective service, so, perhaps not.
  - hga 13y ago
    Indeed, and as I recall there's some Federal case law pertaining to that, which is why I said "perhaps". But the flip side is that attitudes today would not say that a woman "taking up arms" like men do is illegitimate. See, e.g., the one law that failed in the recent Colorado gun grabbing batch, that would have banned concealed carry at public colleges (note the minimum age for a licence is 21). Women did not like being told they weren't fit to carry to defend themselves against rape and made a compelling case. Evie Hudak, the woman legislator who took point on the opposite side, had to resign so that she wouldn't be recalled like two previous state senators, replaced with a Republican, and flip control of the state senate.