"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 literal interpretation of this Amendment is that people - you know, people, like you or me - have an inalienable right to own and carry small weapons, such as guns.
Two arguments are sometimes lodged against the literal interpretation - one is that "the people" doesn't mean the people. The other is that the whole right is limited to purposes of national defense - which I'll address in another question.
The Fourth Amendment protects "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers...." No Leftist (or anyone else) in the US argues that "the people" in the 4th Amendment doesn't mean individual people.
If by "the people" the Founders meant something other than what they meant in the 4th Amendment, why would they use the same term?
It seems pretty straightforward - the people means the people.
2007-01-22
04:44:23
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11 answers
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asked by
Anonymous