Monday, February 7, 2011

The 2nd Amendment & the Militia

The following quote comes from an article at Pajamas Media entitled "What Guns Would the Founders Ban?"


The militia is not a relic to be retired along with the fife and drum. It is the way the community defends itself against all comers — both against those actions that are overtly criminal and those hiding behind the color of law.

It is the armed citizen that holds the line when the police run away and the National Guard fails. It is the militia that overthrows tyranny. Sadly, it is also a fact that the lack of a properly armed citizenry has allowed tyranny to sometimes prevail.

It is only logical that, to remain the nation the founders intended us to be, “we the people” should be armed and equipped similarly to our professional soldiers. The founders would approve of the citizenry and the military being armed with small arms that use the same ammunition, magazines, and optics as those used by our military professionals.

Doubtless, the modern civilian AR-15 rifle and its variants are the modern “militia guns” the founders would approve of today. These semi-automatic firearms, which best accord with the militia function the founders recognized, must be regarded as the contemporary firearm best protected by the Second Amendment as written and conceived.

The most common magazine issued with these firearms holds 30 rounds of ammunition. For these and similar firearms, this is not high but standard capacity. Any attempt to ban such magazines would cut directly against the clear intent of the Second Amendment.

The people are the militia, and the militia — not the government — is the ultimate guardian of this nation’s liberty from one generation to the next.

No comments: