“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.” – United States Constitution, 2nd Amendment, 1791
The 2nd Amendment must be well-read to be well-understood.
The Framers were genius-level intellects who chose their words with precision bordering on supernatural ability. The words and phrases they penned, in the order they penned them, give us understanding on the basis of written communication unrivaled outside mathematical notation.
With the United States yesterday experiencing its first on-air murder-by-gun of journalists, the country again churns the question of gun safety through the mill of public discourse.
It is surely time to stop the madness.
The educator in me yearns to believe perhaps a careful reading of the actual text in the Constitution would be a liberating experience for the American public: however, sadly, many Americans mistake the ability to decode the letters on a page for the skill of reading. They are not the same: true “Reading” goes beyond mere word-recognition or phrase-recognition to include contemplation of the nuances of meaning in the words, phrases, idioms, and word order, as well as the historical context within which the words were written.
The 2nd Amendment as written by The Framers simply does not give the American citizen the right in as unhindered a manner as possible to own and use firearm weaponry at whim: to assert so is to demonstrate a fundamental inability to understand written thought.
• The 2nd Amendment begins with the idea of not only regulation, but regulation done well. Regulation of people engaged in activity with firearms is put first in order of importance by The Framers: to assert otherwise is to fly in the face of the written page.
• Possession and use of deadly weapons of any kind is set by The Framers within the context of use in a militia: a non-private, organized military force under orders from superior authority in The State: gun use is not ascribed to private use based on private motivations.
• The above is not to say that people who demonstrate a legitimate need for weapons – for self-protection in dangerous vocations, or for hunting in responsible ways – might not be able under local, state, or federal regulation to obtain firearms. However, the main idea expressed in the 2nd Amendment is not the most regulation-free environment for private use of deadly weapons: it is well-regulated use within official military units acting in defense of The State.
• Now that the Armed Forces and National Guard and Police of the local, state, and federal authorities own and issue their own firearms to their military or para-military personnel, there is simply no militia-driven need for private citizenry to stockpile weapons and ammunition in case they are called up by their State to serve in the State’s militia.
The Framers could have written the 2nd Amendment thusly: “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
The fact they chose to put before those words this phrase, “A well-regulated militia necessary to the security of a free State …” demands that the following idea be considered within that context. “Well-regulated” was the first priority in their minds and hearts for anyone engaged in any activity describable as military in any manner, or involving the use of arms: it does not specify firearms – it refers to anything describable as armament.
Consider parallel applications of the same formula:
• “A well-regulated atomic energy industry being necessary to the security of a free nation. the right of the people to mine and process fissionable materials shall not be infringed.”
• “A well-regulated auto industry being necessary to the prosperity of a free State, the right of the people to own and use motorized vehicles shall not be infringed.”
• “A well-regulated medical profession being necessary to the well-being of a free State, the right of the people to own and carry sharpened cutlery shall not be infringed.
All the above usable-as-armaments materials are well-regulated – and the most dangerous one, to an extreme degree. Certainly no one sane would advocate for as-unhindered-as-possible private use of fissionable materials, automobiles, or concealable weapons-grade cutlery: the atomic and automobile industries are deeply regulated, the carrying of weaponizable cutlery is also subject to state and federal regulation: minors are in many states and cities prevented from purchasing such blade-weapons at all, and the FAA will confiscate any such weapon before permitting the owner onto any aircraft. You can’t even board an aircraft with a nail-file, let alone a manifest blade-weapon. No substantive complaint is made in regard to these obviously-needed legislative envelopes for the sake of public safety.
The language of The Framers was not to insure that private citizens would, in the most unregulated environment possible, be able to own, stockpile, and use-at-whim deadly weaponry.
Given the number of gun deaths by accident or violent intent visited upon private American citizenry outside any “militia” context of any remote nature – it seems likely that if The Framers could be directly consulted about the current United States gun violence problem, their answer might be similar to that of Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth as reported in Matthew 19:4, when asked a manifestly inane question about a concept in The Bible: “Have you not read?” was asked in reply.
I imagine The Framers, varying only slightly – with Jefferson’s surely the representative voice asking incredulously, “Can you not read?”
Can you not read?
In accord with John Adam’s plea that “none but honest and wise men ever rule under this (White House) roof” – it is the American hope in regard to excessive gun violence that politicians of good will and wise, honest hearts will rise up above financial and political interests to save us all from further such preventable pain and loss.
We grieve with the bereaved families and friends – and look with hope for better laws leading to better days.
Bruce Louis Cohen, 27 August 2015