tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588709444841156892.post5452914335531300114..comments2023-09-27T05:07:57.139-04:00Comments on The Dismal Political Economist: Annals of American Idiocy – The 2nd Amendment to the ConstitutionDavid Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733100135827552933noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588709444841156892.post-89583943385442775142013-07-29T09:11:18.954-04:002013-07-29T09:11:18.954-04:00Only the Second Amendment contains a preface (&quo...Only the Second Amendment contains a preface ("A well regulated Militia ...") before it describes a right. The other amendments jump right in ("Congress shall make no law ..."). <br /><br />The Framers likely added this preface because they thought bearing arms should have something to do with service in a "well regulated Militia." As you write, we don't know what a "Militia" is, but the Framers apparently thought it should be "well regulated." Well regulated! That means government restricting who does what with their arms. Again, nothing else in the Bill of Rights even hints at "regulation."<br /><br />The first time the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment restricted states' rights to regulate guns was in 2010 - 219 years after the Bill of Rights' adoption. It took that long for the Supreme Court to assemble five justices who were so blind to the words on the Constitution's page.<br /><br />The Bill of Rights is full of "shall nots" that really mean "usually shall not." The Second Amendment is badly written, but at least it makes some effort to provide context for the right to bear arms. It looks like that effort wasn't good enough.Rich Mahoganyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17078545531672950308noreply@blogger.com