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A litle clarity about the Second Amendment

Hopefully a quiet voice will clarify the necessity for and the power of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

The Declaration of Independence spoke of “unalienable right” for the people but our newly created Constitution was basically a document which detailed federal powers, procedures and protections. the second amendment was written in part to protect the nation from dangers from without and in part to protect the people from the government itself.

The Second Amendment has two parts: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,” That well regulated Militia would historically be manned by the entire adult male citizenry. Those men were not simply allowed to keep their own arms, but “affirmatively required to do so.”

Because the people were afraid that a powerful government might ultimately turn on them as the king of England did to his subjects there is a second part; “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

William Blackstone a 1700s English jurist was well known by our founders. He was famous for his commentaries of “Common Law” that most people could read. One of his principle commentaries was the “rights of persons.” Blackstone saw political overtones in the right to arms and this probably explains why our Second Amendment is preceded by the rights of religion, expression, press and petition (First Amendment) and then followed by the protection of quartering of soldiers (Third Amendment) and then followed by the protection of unreasonable searches and seizures (Fourth Amendment). These four amendments all speak to rights of the people. They combine to “form an umbrella of individual protection” which, in my opinion, makes them unalienable (They cannot be taken away).

Delbert Beyer

Alpena

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