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“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.”I think the Framers of the Constitution were right to include this in the Bill of Rights; the problem is that staunch defenders of the Second Amendment are really only staunch defenders of the second half of it: “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Bring up the first half, however, and people get seriously up in arms (pun intended): “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State.”
The first half of the amendment causes consternation for a reason, something I can personally attest to as an Army veteran. “Well regulated” and “militia” are terms that have fairly straightforward definitions and thus some unambiguous restrictions as well. As a veteran, let me spell those out, having been part of the modern version of that well regulated militia.
Most who have never served in the armed forces may not know this, but the military has some of the most common-sense gun control measures you will find anywhere. We didn’t just walk around post with loaded M-16s slung over our shoulders; whenever we were not in the field or on the firing range, all of our weapons were locked up in an armory, with the ammunition secured in a totally separate location. If that’s the protocol for the best-trained military in the world, why do people with virtually no training and no need for those weapons have unfettered access to them?
The first half of the amendment causes consternation for a reason, something I can personally attest to as an Army veteran. “Well regulated” and “militia” are terms that have fairly straightforward definitions and thus some unambiguous restrictions as well. As a veteran, let me spell those out, having been part of the modern version of that well regulated militia.
Most who have never served in the armed forces may not know this, but the military has some of the most common-sense gun control measures you will find anywhere. We didn’t just walk around post with loaded M-16s slung over our shoulders; whenever we were not in the field or on the firing range, all of our weapons were locked up in an armory, with the ammunition secured in a totally separate location. If that’s the protocol for the best-trained military in the world, why do people with virtually no training and no need for those weapons have unfettered access to them?
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