Our Founding Fathers and their words
The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution is not specific about what types of arms the people may bear. When our Founding Fathers wrote the Bill of Rights, the muskets in the video below are what they were writing about.
Alexander Hamilton wrote about the militia in Federalist Paper #29 and it is interesting reading. But there is a simpler approach to viewing the issue of private ownership of assault weapons. We already know that such a ban is not unconstitutional; as there were several unsuccessful constitutional challenges to the 1994 assault weapons ban. However, the simpler approach is that we need to view the rights set forth in the first 10 amendments to the U. S. Constitution in terms of their priority. Their importance. Because none of the language in that Bill of Rights supersedes our right to life. For those who need a reminder...
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"
Mother Jones compiled data regarding mass shootings in the U. S. from 1982 through now. There have been 81 such shootings, which are defined as involving four or more victims. 668 people have died in those 81 shootings. Another 647 were wounded. The right of those people to live is a lot more important than the rights of militia wannabes to own AR-15s. Our Founding Fathers wrote the Bill of Rights without knowing that roughly 100 years after we declared our independence, weapons could reach this point.
The cannons are better. The Mauser rifles used by the Japanese soldiers are still single-shot weapons. But those Gatling guns that killed almost all of the samurai in that final charge were capable of firing 200 rounds per minute.
The carbines carried by Captain Miller's (Tom Hanks) troops are semi-automatic assault weapons. But the Thompson carried by Captain Miller could fire between 600 and 1200 rounds per minute, meaning it would empty a 30 round ammo clip pretty damn fast.
Those are not the arms that our Founding Fathers wrote about. Nor did they intend the right to bear arms to result in that right being prioritized above the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Alexander Hamilton wrote about the militia in Federalist Paper #29 and it is interesting reading. But there is a simpler approach to viewing the issue of private ownership of assault weapons. We already know that such a ban is not unconstitutional; as there were several unsuccessful constitutional challenges to the 1994 assault weapons ban. However, the simpler approach is that we need to view the rights set forth in the first 10 amendments to the U. S. Constitution in terms of their priority. Their importance. Because none of the language in that Bill of Rights supersedes our right to life. For those who need a reminder...
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"
Mother Jones compiled data regarding mass shootings in the U. S. from 1982 through now. There have been 81 such shootings, which are defined as involving four or more victims. 668 people have died in those 81 shootings. Another 647 were wounded. The right of those people to live is a lot more important than the rights of militia wannabes to own AR-15s. Our Founding Fathers wrote the Bill of Rights without knowing that roughly 100 years after we declared our independence, weapons could reach this point.
The cannons are better. The Mauser rifles used by the Japanese soldiers are still single-shot weapons. But those Gatling guns that killed almost all of the samurai in that final charge were capable of firing 200 rounds per minute.
The carbines carried by Captain Miller's (Tom Hanks) troops are semi-automatic assault weapons. But the Thompson carried by Captain Miller could fire between 600 and 1200 rounds per minute, meaning it would empty a 30 round ammo clip pretty damn fast.
Those are not the arms that our Founding Fathers wrote about. Nor did they intend the right to bear arms to result in that right being prioritized above the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
posted by me at 3:34 PM
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