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- From: spm2d@uvacs.cs.Virginia.EDU (Steven Miale)
- Subject: Re: Registered Keys - why the need?
- Message-ID: <1992Nov7.180313.21346@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>
- Sender: usenet@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU
- Organization: University of Virginia Computer Science Department
- References: <1992Nov6.082920.26456@genie.slhs.udel.edu> <1992Nov6.172823.1015@netcom.com> <palmer.721081324@news.larc.nasa.gov> <1992Nov7.080407.25806@netcom.com>
- Distribution: inet
- Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 18:03:13 GMT
- Lines: 53
-
- In article <1992Nov7.080407.25806@netcom.com>, strnlght@netcom.com (David Sternlight) writes:
- >
- > Michael T. Palmer argues that owning guns is a right guaranteed by the
- > Constitution which the State has no right to intervene in.
- >
- > He is mistaken, and the argument itself is a tired piece of NRA propaganda.
- > A careful reading of the Constitution, as well as the interpretation of
- > many Constitutional scholars and the courts is that the relevant provision
- > is a Militia clause, not an individual gun clause. NRA types always
- > omit the Militia part of the language of the Constitution, and quote
- > the second part "the right to keep and bear arms" completely out of
- > context, often concealing their shoddy rhetoric by capitalizing the
- > leading "the" in the phrase to conceal that lead-in material has
- > been suppressed.
-
- Three problems with this argument, David:
-
- First, the United States Senate, in a 1982 report titled
- "The Right to Keep and Bear Arms," has specifically said that
- "what is protected is an individual right of a private citizen
- to own and carry firearms in a peaceful manner."
-
- Second, the amendment never says that it is only the *militia* who
- has a right to keep and bear arms. It says that in order in *insure*
- a well-regulated militia, the right to keep and bear arms shall not
- be infringed.
-
- And even if we do conclude that only the militia can keep and bear
- arms, here is Webster's definition of a militia:
-
- mi-li-tia \me-'lish-e\
- [L, military service, fr. milit-, miles]
- 1: a part of the organized armed forces of a country liable to call
- only in emergency
- 2: the whole body of able-bodied male citizens declared by law as being
- subject to call to military service
- -- mi-li-tia-man \-men\ n
-
- Both these definitions are basically the same: people who *can* serve
- in the military by way of the draft, *NOT* exclusively military
- personnel.
-
- Most people tend to assume that "militia" == "military"; this is
- incorrect. Similar roots don't necessary imply similar meanings;
- compare "pedestrian" and "pediatrist".
-
- Steve
-
-
- --
- Steven Miale - spm2d@virginia.edu | Don't blame me -
- University of Virginia | I voted Libertarian.
- Charlottesville, Virginia |
-