The Two Clause of the Second Amendment are Wedded

The Second Amendment of the Unite States’ Constitution contains two clauses that are by their nature and their presence in the same amendment, connected.

The Second Amendment is as follows:

“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 clause states that a well regulated militia is important to the security of a free state. 

Militia, in context of the early years of the forming of the nation, is a quasi-military organization of able bodied people that can be expected to either supplement a standing army in time of need or act as a defensive army against the power of the national government in an attempt to control a state.

Under the Articles of Confederation, a passage instructed individual states to identify and retain able bodied men to be part of the individual state militia and that they were to be minimally equipped with tents, field pieces and arms.

The Articles of Confederation included this line because the authors found that the length of the Revolutionary War had a damping effect on individual state militias. 

The militias lacked in able leadership, became undisciplined, individuals tended to go awal and state and local communities preferred their militia to stay either close to home or at the very least stay within the state.

During the writing of the Constitution the near catastrophic experience from the Revolutionary War and the attempted solution to the problem in the Articles of Confederation was not overlooked or ignored. 

James Madison and many legislators in the 13 colonies noted that the original Constitution that was being considered before them did not support a well regulated and properly equipped militia. 

In their own attempt to shore up the state militias, James Madison and the legislators of the colonies demanded and indeed did place in the Constitution the first clause of the second amendment, “A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state.”

Which, of course, brings to light the definition of a “state.”     

First, the term state did not refer to individual states in general.

States, being a geographically defined area of land, were the primary organization of the country at the time and still is today.

The individual states were expected to be a balancing fulcrum for the power of the national government.

But, in this context, the term state in the time period of the country was meant to mean a political organization, that is, a country as we define it today. 

At the time “states,” meaning government, were either of two kinds; a state where the power rested in the people or were the power rested in a monarch.

A “free state”, in this context, was a country where the power rested with the people.

So, for the first clause of the Second Amendment, its meaning is that a militia that is able to muster men that are properly armed and trained is important to a free country, therefore, it must be maintained.

As for the second, it is less complicated but still connected to the first clause.

Again, back to the meanings during the Revolutionary times.  

Money was tight and the burgeoning government at the time could not always be relied on to provide the funding necessary to equip the troops properly that were fighting the English. 

It was accepted, unlike our military now, that if you had your own guns, you were encouraged to bring them for your use.  This alleviated some of the pressure on the short supplies and enable someone who doesn’t have access to their own weapons to have one.

All the guns used by the individual at the time were not military style in the way we know of them now. 

Most guns were used for hunting, or on the frontier of the country to defend against Native American’s whose land was being stolen from them by the European invaders. 

All military style weapons, cannons, mortars and howitzers, were retained by the Army and the state and local militia.

Even the guns that were owned by the military were taken back by the army or the state and local militia for storage to keep them maintained and available.

Here is the important point on this part of the second clause. 

The Constitution at the time, forbid keeping a national standing army. 

There was an understanding that the country in time of need would rely on the state and local militia to fill the void of having no army at ready till a regular army could be mustered. (going back of course to the first clause in the amendment)

So, those that were part of the militia and under its direct control were encouraged to own and maintain their weapons for use in any conflict that might arise.

So, the meaning behind the second clause of the second amendment.  That individuals that are part of the regulated militia are not only encouraged to own their own weapons, but states and local governments must not restrict their ownership for those that are part of the militia.

In my opinion, the two clauses of the second amendment are wedded. 

Weapon ownership can be restricted for those that do not belong to a well-regulated militia organized by the state or local government and the right of the federal government to set standards for the organization and regulation of the militias are not only Constitutional, but necessary.

The First Obligation of Government is the Safety and Security of its People

Governments are formed to do any number of things from mere defense to the total control of the lives of the people that fall under its jurisdiction.

The government of the United States was formed for the reasons stated in the preamble of the Constitution:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Many of the items in the preamble imply that it was formed for the safety and security of the people that live within its borders.

In fact, the Constitution was written because the legislatures of the 13 colonies sent representatives to Philadelphia to find a solution to the chaos that was developing within each state and between the states under the Articles of Confederation.

The safety and security of the states and the people living in each state was in jeopardy.

At the very beginning of the Constitution, to make the point about providing for the safety and security of the people living with in the United States’ borders, Article One establishes the lawmaking bodies; the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Also, in Article two, the executive branch was formed whose job it is to enforce the laws passed by the House of Representatives, the Senate and signed into law by the president.

In addition to the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence also clearly states that the safety and security of the people under its jurisdiction should be the primary functions of government.

It states in the opening of the second paragraph, that, “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are the primary goals of humans. 

The order of the words in the phrase are not in suspect.  It is clear, that the authors meant that their lives were of primary importance to them and to their posterity.    

What ever rights are stated in the Constitution or in the Declaration of Independence, from religion, privacy, press, voting and the right to bear arms, the primary function of the government of the United States is to enact laws that protect people from harm.  

The obligation stated in the preamble of the Constitution that the United States government provide for the safety and security of the people, translates to a right of safety and security by the people living under its jurisdiction.

Safety and security are rights greater than any other of the rights, expressed or implied, in the Constitution. 

The Declaration of Independence declared all people are equal

Today is Independence Day in America. It is the day that we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. With that act, the colonist declared our separation from England and their intention to form a new government. The colonists were not being treated as equals by the English and felt that they should. Since they weren’t, they wanted to create a government that respected everyone’s rights.

But, let’s not fool ourselves. The phrase in the Declaration of Independence, “All men are created equal” refers to white men over the age of 21. Woman didn’t have the same rights as men. Any rights or obligations that children had were those that were granted by their fathers. Native American men at the time were considered only close to equal in the eyes of the law… occasionally. Then, of course, there were the slaves that at the time of the signing of the Declaration were the brute laborers of the colonies, especially in the South. They were less than equal.

But, would anyone today believe that the phrase “All men are created equal” means only white men? While its meaning at the time of the signing is clear from the understanding of history, its intent was to declare that all individuals are equal. So, should we follow the original meaning or the intent?

It is hoped that you would answer that it is the intent that we should follow. That people living in America are created equal and should expect equal treatment. It is a universal belief, because as Abraham Lincoln believed, the language of the Declaration of Independence is deliberately universal.

The Declaration of Independence was only the first step the founders took to create a successful government. There was the Articles of Confederation, but that didn’t work out and nearly destroyed the goal of living as one nation. The Constitution was then created. It has had a very successful run over these 230 plus years. But, it was the Declaration that set the tone at the time. The Constitution created a government that successfully carried out the goals of the Declaration of Independence.

The goal was that all people are created equal. No matter their gender, race, religion, orientation, politics and many other things that are often used to divide us. Instead, all of those factors should be used to define us as Americans.

Let’s get out and celebrate today. Let’s celebrate together for the good of out community.

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Going Backwards Because of Immigration

In 1787 The United States Constitution was adopted. Before that, the country was operating under the Articles of Confederation. The reason the Articles of Confederation was replaced because it wasn’t working. States had all the power to create their own laws without regard to other states or the national interest.

Last year there was 222 laws and 148 resolutions passed by state legislatures governing immigration. This doesn’t include all the laws that were already in place. Many states are taking a hard look at immigration and devising their own plans in an attempt to address the problem. All of this because the elected officials of the national government have not been able to find consensus on the issue.

This is beginning to look like the Articles of Confederation again.

States do have the right and responsibility to enact legislation that will provide for their citizens. But state laws should deal with issues that are local or state wide in scope and not national issues. National issues are the responsibility of Washington. This is especially true for an issue like immigration that effects each and every citizen in some way in America.

With each state developing its own laws to deal with immigration there is going to be a very wide set of rules and regulations. This will create an incredible amount of confusion in the country. Legal workers and immigrants that move from state to state will be unsure of what documents they may need to prove their status. Employers that hire workers across many states will need to developed employment policies for each state. Virtually every private and public service agency; local, state and national; will need individual sets of procedures to just do their job.

Immigration is a national issue and states need to stay out of it. But, they are acting because the federal government is not. It is time for the federal government to act.