The 2nd Amendment - The Right to Bear Arms - Part 1

The primary reason the United States exists in the form it does today, is that it was formed by people rebelling against tyranny. Additionally, the founding fathers realized that people, once free, would need a method of protecting that freedom from the overreaching arms of the federal government.

The Second Amendment reads:
“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.”

To understand the second amendment, you must realize that the Bill of Rights was created to protect the people from the government. The federal government has (should have) very little power over the manner in which the states governed themselves (this particular issue will be addressed with the 10th Amendment).

The basic premise was that the role of the federal government was to provide for a common defense, and manage all affairs that crossed state lines or dealt with the rest of the world.

The fear of the founding fathers was a government such as that we have now, whereby the federal government has usurped the power of the individual states and their right to govern themselves in accordance with the will of the people of those states.

In the initial part of this series, where I discussed the first amendment, it slowly becomes apparent that the founding fathers did not expect people to agree with everything the government did. As such, the first amendment guarantees the right of the people to have an opinion, express that opinion, and to peacefully attempt to persuade others (including the government) to their point of view. However, what happens when the government starts to ignore those voices?

What happens when the federal government starts to dictate to all how to live, how to believe, how to raise their children, and locks up those refuse to remain silent? What happens when the government starts to diminish the rights of the people one by one?

Thus was born the second amendment. The right of a well-regulated militia; the right for the PEOPLE to keep and bear arms. In the revolutionary war, it was not the “state” militias that got the ball rolling. It was the people standing up together. It was individual cities, and eventually, the organization of the militias inside the different states that allowed the minutemen of 1776 to defeat one of the most formidable armies in the world.

In all tyrannies, the first step taken is the removal of weapons from the populace. This is to protect the tyrant from an uprising of the people. So far, our country has survived 231 years as a democracy. However, with the current standings of our government, with a greatly unpopular president, an even more unpopular legislative branch, and a judiciary that is fickle at best, can you tell me one branch of the government that is working?

This may make me sound like a conspiracy theorist, but from my point of view, the foundation of individual freedoms in this country are constantly being attacked and weakened. It is not just the left, it is not just the right, it is both. It involves the abuse of individual liberties, the abuse of power, and the abuse of the freedoms that were guaranteed to every single American 231 years ago. I wonder, what will happen when enough people have had enough?

Is the second amendment applicable in our times? I would have to say that it is the one “right” that allows us to stand up and protect all of the other freedoms granted by the Bill of Rights, and thus, I think that it is more applicable today then ever.

You can email Alan at alan@alanfernald.com twenty-four hours a day.