A Well Regulated Militia
By Lee & Vista Boyland. January 7th, 2013
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The first Ten Amendments to the US Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, were based upon Virginia's Declaration of Rights, drafted by George Mason. Ratified on December 15, 1791, the Second Amendment reads, "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."
Progressive-Liberals sneer at the Constitution, calling it obsolete. One of the Progressive's bright lights, Georgetown Constitutional Law Professor Louis Michael Seidman thinks we should ditch our Constitution. A Constitutional Scholar and former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Seidman has written that he believes, "the United States Constitution is over-valued because it contains archaic, idiosyncratic and downright evil provisions." Isn't this a career ending position? Think about the professor's words while you consider that people pay exorbitant amounts of money to have a man like Seidman teach their children about our Constitution.
As the year 2013 dawns, Progressive-Liberals have mounted a full-scale attack on the Second Amendment. It appears they believe the United States must be disarmed so that they can impose their failed philosophy on our citizens. If they win they will have taken us one more step down the road toward a Socialist form of government -- a tyrannical form of government. With this in mind let us examine the Founding Fathers' purpose when they added the Second Amendment to our Constitution.
The meaning of the Second Amendment was well understood in 1791, where the main concern was limiting the federal government's power to prevent it from infringing on the rights of the new Republic's citizens. The Founding Fathers were visionaries, educated, thorough, thoughtful, and concise men, thus it is reasonable to assume that each word in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were carefully chosen. They understood that the nation's needs would evolve as it grew; so as they drafted our Constitution they included a mechanism to amend in Article V, and it has been amended twenty-seven times. The wisdom of our Founding Fathers is demonstrated by their work product, in that they created the greatest nation in the history of the world.
Note that the Second Amendment uses the word "militia" not "army" (national guard is a modern term). Could they have meant army? Doubtful, since George Washington was president and he certainly knew the difference between a militia and an army. So, what did our Founding Fathers have in mind when they wrote this clause in a one sentence amendment, "... , being necessary to the security of a free State, ..."?
Consider that the Founding Fathers were concerned about a tyrannical government emerging, a government that would have control of its army. If so, their concern must have been securing a free State -- securing our freedom. Thus, one can conclude that the intention of the Second Amendment was to guarantee the people's ability to face down a tyrannical government by calling up a well regulated militia.
In this context what is a regulated militia? It could be many things, but we believe the Founding Fathers were speaking of armed citizens led by local leaders; and that the last two clauses, "... , the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed" were intended to prevent a tyrannical government from disarming its citizens.
We cringe to speculate what our Founding Fathers would think about the current US government and the Progressive-Liberal agenda. In fact we believe that the authors of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights would look at each other, point to the Second Amendment, nod and say, "Yes, we were right -- the Second Amendment was required."
If Congress passes gun confiscation legislation--laws that infringe on our Second Amendment right to bear arms -- then our well regulated militia may be needed to maintain the security of our free State. Legislators that vote for bills that violate the Second Amendment have violated their oath to, "protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic."
Thomas Jefferson left us this advice:
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty."
"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance."
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not."
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
And Adolph Hitler said,
"To conquer a nation first disarm its citizens."
Progressive-Liberals are driving an agenda that is contrary to our Constitution, rationalizing doing so by claiming the Constitution is a living document. Democrats backing slavery caused the first civil war. Let us pray that they don't cause a second one.
Progressive-Liberals are driving an agenda that is contrary to our Constitution, rationalizing doing so by claiming the Constitution is a living document. Democrats backing slavery caused the first civil war. Let us pray that they don't cause a second one.
Lee Boyland earned a degree in nuclear engineering, then entered active duty as an officer in the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps. A graduate of the U.S. Navy's Explosive and Nuclear Ordnance Disposal Schools, Boyland was assigned to the Defense Atomic Support Agency in Albuquerque, NM. A member of DASA's Nuclear Emergency Team responsible for nuclear weapons accidents, including the rendering safe of armed nuclear warheads, he had access to the design details of every nuclear and thermonuclear warhead developed by the United States through the Mark 63 warhead. His duties took him to the Nevada Test Site on many occasions. After leaving the Army, he designed conventional and special ordnance, and demilitarized chemical weapons at Rocky Mountain Arsenal and Tooele Army Depot. He made the transition to hazardous waste management by applying aerospace combustion technology to incineration of Agent Orange. He is the author of "The Rings of Allah" and "Behold, an Ashen Horse," which received critical acclaim by the Military Writers Society of America.
