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- Path: sparky!uunet!autodesk!drake
- From: drake@Autodesk.COM (Dan Drake)
- Newsgroups: sci.crypt
- Subject: Re: Registered Keys - why the need?
- Message-ID: <17927@autodesk.COM>
- Date: 13 Nov 92 21:41:48 GMT
- References: <1992Nov12.111445.3478@ke4zv.uucp>
- Distribution: inet
- Organization: Autodesk Inc., Sausalito CA, USA
- Lines: 34
-
- gary@ke4zv.uucp (Gary Coffman) writes:
- > In article <17888@autodesk.COM> drake@Autodesk.COM (Dan Drake) writes:
- > >
- > >Query: Can anyone tell me what the word ``well-regulated'' means when
- > >used in the 2nd Amendment?
- >
- > It's an archaic firearms term meaning "adjusted to strike to point of
- > aim." A double barrel shotgun is said to be well regulated when both
- > barrels fire to the same point of aim. When applied to the militia,
- > it means that the militia is practiced in the effective use of weapons.
-
- This is one of several responses to my query, most of which came by
- e-mail. My thanks to all the people who troubled to respond.
-
- I admit with embarassment that only after getting these replies (many of
- which were along the same lines as this one) did I consult a scholarly
- source, one absolutely unbiased relative to American gun laws. I invite
- anyone to do the same: look into the Oxford English Dictionary and form
- your own conclusions about the historical meanings of regulate and
- regulated; use the full multi-volume set, with the historical examples.
- For myself, I don't find a strong balance of probability that the word
- as applied to a militia just means able to aim a gun accurately.
-
- By the way, the last definition given for "regulated" refers
- specifically to armed forces; it essentially means "disciplined". Not a
- good omen for well-regulated militia meaning any bunch of guys that have
- guns. In all fairness, I must note that this definition is marked
- obsolete and rare, with an example from the late 1600s, so it can be
- dismissed as irrelevant if one wishes to. That leaves plenty of other
- material, on which you can draw your own conclusions.
-
- --
- Dan Drake In software, the *complete* design *is* the software!
- drake@Autodesk.com --Hugh Lamaster
-