Over the Hedge by T Lewis and Michael Fry for June 09, 2011

You’re not the only one, Hammy …

R.J. has all the twisted logic of an elected politician. Or of some appointed judges.

OK we have a right to bear arms, but won’t the Bears miss them?

Probably, Bears are rotten shots…

I have bare arms, check out my guns …

Anyway, I’m not a United States of American, so it is the first time I have seen those words. It does not say anything about individuals having firearms, does it? Only the context of a militia.

How do you keep without owning?

bdaverin: Right-o, I can accept that is the context of those words. Do you think your Founding Fathers would have been comfortable with widespread (almost universal) gun distribution if the Bill of Rights had not been drafted during revolutionary times, when they were concerned about a foreign force?

Another of their concerns was in creating a government that did not oppress it’s people – the right to bear arms was considered one protection against an oppressive government.

right to bear arms against an oppressive government , indeed. good luck with your war against the U.S. Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force. might be a good idea to watch for half price bullet sales at Wal Mart. you’re going to need a lot to protect yourself against that evil government that is apparently ruining your miserable life.

The original purpose was to provide for defense (not for invading other countries on orders of multinational corporations) without resorting to conscription (which was one of the main reasons for immigration from German states among others).

Elbridge Gerry proposed that the a standing army be restricted to a number which would barely handle the paperwork at the armories. Unfortunately Madison’s Notes on the Constitutional Convention does not mention what happened to that proposal, nor to the one that the federal government should be responsible for officers and heavy weapons while the states should provide other ranks and small arms. It was also interesting that during the bicentennial of the Constitution, no publisher had Madison’s Notes in print and available for bookstores to stock. I had to use Interlibrary Loan in order to get to read this important document.

The Reich wing never notices the first part of the Second Amendment (militia context) nor the last part of the Tenth (unenumerated powers “or to the people.”)

Don’t worry, Hammy. We’re all confused as well as to how that particular piece of the Constitution is meant to be interpreted…

I’ve been reading a great bio of Benjamin Franklin (by H.W. Brands) that relates an incident in the 1750’s (before the French-Indian War) when the French turned former Indian allies of the English and had them attack settlers in the far west, meaning around Pittsburgh. The Quaker Assembly was reluctant to go to war, so Franklin himself organized a non-govermental force of several thousand to put down the uprisings. There was no strict dividing line between defending yourself as an individual, a citizen militia, or a govenment force. It’s all about individual rights.

Ouch!