“On
every question of construction (of the Constitution) let us carry
ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect
the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning
may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the
probable one in which it was passed.”
— Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, June 12, 1823
— Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, June 12, 1823
Every
time the debate about gun control rages, there is invariably a myth
that is dusted off, shined up and placed on display to be referred to by
every misinformed advocate. The text of the 2nd Amendment is invoked to
argue that the Founders only intended “the militia” (implied to mean an
organized militia, as in something akin to the National Guard) to keep
and bear arms. In actuality, this very wording proves precisely the
opposite.
But this is only evident to those who
understand that words are merely tools, used to convey meaning. This is a
simple concept that can be seen easily with differing languages. The
word “gift” has a meaning in English, but the same word means “poison”
in German. The language in which a word, its context, affects meaning.
Context is determined by time as well as culture. In the U.S. in the
1950s, the word “gay” had a drastically different meaning than it does
today. Without knowing this, someone watching a movie from that decade
in which one character referred to another as gay would be gravely
confused. Sadly, this same situation occurs when one tries to interpret
the text of the 2nd Amendment with no understanding of history or its
context. What emerges in this interpretation is a sort of halfway
position between adhering to the text (emphasizing one portion and
ignoring another) and imposing a different (more modern) interpretation
on it, rendering it contrary to its actual intent and how it was
understood at the time it was ratified. To understand what the Amendment
really means several complimentary approaches can be used.
1. Common Sense. The
system of government set up by the Founders was based on the political
philosophy of individualism, that individual rights are sacred and the
basis for society (hence our Bill of Rights, hence limits on the power
of the government and limits on the power of the majority). So averse
were the Founders to collectivist government that the word democracy
does not appear in the Constitution once, but a variation of republic (a
form of government based on individualism, with guaranteed protections
of rights) does, twice. Franklin, when exiting the convention and asked
what government was created, famously replied, “A Republic, if you can
keep it.” Why would these men, after creating a whole structure based on
a political philosophy of individual rights suddenly and for only only
one critical right, shift into a collective mode of thought? The right
to free speech is certainly not a collective right (groups benefit from
it, but it is not limited to them).
The purpose of the right can further be deduced by looking at another of founding document, penned by Thomas Jefferson:
“That
to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any
Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,
and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such
principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem
most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness … But when a long
train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object
evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
Why
would men have proclaimed the right and duty of a people to overthrow a
tyrannical government, but at the same time deny them the means to do
so. Critics of this view ask why the Constitution gave the power to
“suppress insurrection” to the federal government, if it wanted the
people to be able to overthrow a government. This simplistic view
assumes that there cannot be both legitimate causes of revolt and
illegitimate ones. It was expected that unlawful movements that did not
represent the will of the whole people, like Shay’s Rebellion, would be
able to put down by the government, but it was assumed that when a
government crossed into tyranny, then the armed populace rising against
it would consist of a much greater part of the population. The ability
to suppress rebellions was added to protect the republic from domestic
insurrection, but the making the government vulnerable to the people by
arming them was another means of protecting the republic.
2. The text. “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
Framers were incredibly specific and very detail-oriented in creating
the Constitution. They haggled over every sentence, every word, every
piece of punctuation in Constitution. In fact, the deliberate change of a comma to a semicolon
in one version of the draft was an attempt at expanding the central
governments power and almost changed the meaning of the document, until
it was caught and corrected. With this in mind, why would the Framers
grant “the people” the right to bear arms and not “the milita” if that
was their intention? This point is made very forcefully in this video.
Understanding
the real meaning of the text requires a knowledge of history. At the
time of the Founders, the distinction between the individual and the
militia did not exist. The militia was a
compulsory and universal system, not something separate from the
individual. There was no distinction between the militia and the people
and the concept of the militia as an actual separate entity did not
exist until after the war of 1812.
This idea can be witnessed in several examples from the time:
- The first draft of the Amendment was actually worded after Virginia’s Declaration of Rights, and it began, “A well regulated militia, composed of the whole body of the people…”
- During the debates George Mason, made this point explicitly: “Mr. Chairman, a worthy member has asked who are the militia, if they be not the people of this country,
and if we are not to be protected from the fate of the Germans,
Prussians, &c., by our representation? I ask, Who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except for a few public officers.”
Congress actually rejected the wording that stated “to keep and bear arms for the common defense” to ensure that the right was seen as an individual right, not simply as part of national defense.
Interestingly, this same debate was had regarding the English Bill of Rights of 1689, but in that case as well, the individual right wording won out.
Interestingly, this same debate was had regarding the English Bill of Rights of 1689, but in that case as well, the individual right wording won out.
3. Historical Context. At the time of the founding there was a tradition of
individual rights to weapons. The Framers based their philosophy on a
long history of English law (among many other philosophies) and in this
area the right to keep and bear arms has been very present for a long
period of time.
- English common law always allowed a
right to keep and bear arms, and in fact doing so was REQUIRED for most
of English history.
- This right was protected in an un-named charter by Henry II in 1154.
-
The 1215 Magna Carta ensured the right of individuals to revolt against
the government if their rights were not protected — this right not only
implies but necessitates a right to keep and bear arms (so also with
the Declaration of Independence).
Disarming of
English citizens and raising of a large standing army and tyrannical
treatment of citizens by King Charles II and King James II resulted in
the English Bill of Rights of 1689 which guaranteed no royal
interference in the freedom of the people to have arms for their own
defense. This would later be a major influence on the Declaration of
Independence, Constitution, and US Bill of Rights.
This is an outstanding article highlighting this long tradition.
4. In Their Own Words. If
the Founders intent for the right to bear arms to be an individual
right for the purpose of defense against tyranny is not obvious enough
at this point, statements that they and others of the time made make
this clear.
* It must be noted most of the statements are in the context of a debate between a standing army and the militia, but as already discussed, the militia was viewed as the people and the argument for a militia to be armed to protect against a standing army only further demonstrates the intent was that the people be armed as protection against the government:
* It must be noted most of the statements are in the context of a debate between a standing army and the militia, but as already discussed, the militia was viewed as the people and the argument for a militia to be armed to protect against a standing army only further demonstrates the intent was that the people be armed as protection against the government:
“And
what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned
from time to time that this people preserve the spirit of resistance?
Let them take arms.”
— Thomas Jefferson in a letter to William S. Smith in 1787
— Thomas Jefferson in a letter to William S. Smith in 1787
“Their
swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the
birthright of an American… The unlimited power of the sword is not in
the hands of either the federal or state government, but, where I trust
in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.”
— Tench Coxe, Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788
— Tench Coxe, Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788
“Guard
with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who
approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but
downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.”
— Patrick Henry, Debates
— Patrick Henry, Debates
“…to disarm the people — that was the best and most effectual way to enslave them.”
— George Mason, Debates
— George Mason, Debates
“The great object is that every man be armed…everyone who is able may have a gun.”
— Patrick Henry, Debates.
— Patrick Henry, Debates.
“As
civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may
attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be
occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to
the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms.”
— Tench Coxe, `Remarks on the First Part of the Amendments to the Federal Constitution,’ Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789
“Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation,
the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are
attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a
barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than
any which a simple government of any form can admit of. Notwithstanding
the military establishments in the several kingdoms of Europe, which are
carried as far as the public resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms…”
— James Madison, Federalist Papers #46
— James Madison, Federalist Papers #46
“The right of the people to keep and bear…arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country…”
— James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434 [June 8, 1789]
— James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434 [June 8, 1789]
“A militia, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves…and include all men capable of bearing arms.”
— Richard Henry Lee, Additional Letters from the Federal Farmer (1788)
— Richard Henry Lee, Additional Letters from the Federal Farmer (1788)
“The right of the people to
keep and bear arms has been recognized by the General Government; but
the best security of that right after all is, the military spirit, that
taste for martial exercises, which has always distinguished the free
citizens of these States….Such men form the best barrier to the
liberties of America”
— Gazette of the United States, October 14, 1789
— Gazette of the United States, October 14, 1789
“The whole of the Bill (of Rights) is a declaration of the right of the people at large or considered as individuals…. It establishes some rights of the individual as unalienable and which consequently, no majority has a right to deprive them of.”
- Albert Gallatin of the New York Historical Society, October 7, 1789
- Albert Gallatin of the New York Historical Society, October 7, 1789
“No Free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.”
— Thomas Jefferson, Proposal Virginia Constitution
— Thomas Jefferson, Proposal Virginia Constitution
“No kingdom can be secured otherwise than by arming the people. The possession of arms is the distinction between a freeman and a slave. He, who has nothing, and who himself belongs to another, must be defended by him, whose property he is, and needs no arms. But he,
who thinks he is his own master, and has what he can call his own,
ought to have arms to defend himself, and what he possesses; else he
lives precariously, and at discretion.”
— James Burgh, Political Disquisitions: Or, an Enquiry into Public Errors, Defects, and Abuses [London, 1774-1775]
— James Burgh, Political Disquisitions: Or, an Enquiry into Public Errors, Defects, and Abuses [London, 1774-1775]
“The people are not to be disarmed of their weapons. They are left in full possession of them.”
— Zachariah Johnson, Debates
— Zachariah Johnson, Debates
One may say what they will about whether citizens should or should not be allowed to possess firearms, but one thing that cannot honestly be said is that that the Framers did not intend for it and that the Constitution does not allow for it.
(Coincidentally the courts have consistently upheld this view as well, but that is a matter for another post)
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