by wehappyfew » Fri 30 Dec 2005, 20:20:56
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As for the 2nd...
The ACLU agrees with the Supreme Court's long-standing interpretation of the Second Amendment [as set forth in the 1939 case, U.S. v. Miller] that the individual's right to bear arms applies only to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia. Except for lawful police and military purposes, the possession of weapons by individuals is not constitutionally protected. Therefore, there is no constitutional impediment to the regulation of firearms nor does it prohibit reasonable regulation of gun ownership, such as licensing and registration.
The national ACLU is neutral on the issue of gun control. We believe that the Constitution contains no barriers to reasonable regulations of gun ownership. If we can license and register cars, we can license and register guns.
The habit of the Supremes to occasionally remove one of our Constitutional rights is well known.
That does not change the original intent, which was that the
militia, constituting all able bodied males over age 16, in order to be
well regulated (meaning well trained, operating efficiently), required a population of citizens with the
individual right of weapons ownership. This included "Their swords, and every other terrible instrument of the soldier..."* as noted at the time of the debate over the ratification of the original document.
From this we could even conclude that the Framers intended for all citizens to equally or even
better armed than the military itself. How else would the original purpose of the 2nd Amendment be possible (protecting the citizens from their own government)?
...like Swiss citizens, who are required to maintain a working, loaded, fully automatic battle rifle in their homes.
*(from
Lew Rockwell)