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The
Below Comments Relate to this Newslink:
FL: A primer: Understanding the Second Amendment
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com
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There
are 4 comments
on this story
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First of all, the language of the Amendment is confusing. It reads, and I quote:
“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.”
What, pray tell, did the Framers mean with this convoluted statement? Granted, the English language back in 1791 may have been a bit stilted, but even so, the sentence structure and choice of words at best breed confusion. |
| Comment by:
MarkHamTownsend
(6/14/2018)
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While this article in general is pretty decent, I will point out, as someone who majored in English in college, the language of the 2A is not confusing at all. It is direct, straightforward, and deliberate.
Liberals seem most subject to misunderstanding -- or distorting -- the first clause where it uses the phrase "well regulated militia." This simply expresses the Founders' belief that for a militia to be useful, it must be well trained and disciplined.
It is NOT a reason to violate the CLEARLY STATED provision of the second clause;"SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED." |
| Comment by:
PHORTO
(6/14/2018)
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MarkHamTownsend -
The author missteps right from jump street, calling the prefatory clause a "sentence". It is not. It is rhetorical throat-clearing. It has no subject, no verb and no predicate.
This red flag reduces the value of the whole piece. |
| Comment by:
MarkHamTownsend
(6/14/2018)
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Phorto;
You're correct. It's actually called an exemplar. The 2A is actually one sentence. The "exemplar" simply is an "example"; as "this is the chief reason for:" followed by what the Founders' intent was.
Which is WHY it is grievously wrong to interpret "well regulatdd" to mean the government has any power to ban firearms. Exemplars simply cannot be used to contradict a straightforward unambiguous statement, as that second clause is. |
| Comment by:
PHORTO
(6/14/2018)
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MarkHamTownsend -
Exactly so. Paraphrased, the sentence says, "Because of THIS, we are guaranteeing THAT."
THIS /= THAT
They are two distinctly different things. |
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| QUOTES
TO REMEMBER |
| We'll take one step at a time, and the first is necessarily - given the political realities - very modest. We'll have to start working again to strengthen the law, and then again to strengthen the next law and again and again. Our ultimate goal, total control of handguns, is going to take time. The first problem is to slow down production and sales. Next is to get registration. The final problem is to make possession of all handguns and ammunition (with a few exceptions) totally illegal. — Pete Shields, founder of Handgun Control, Inc., New Yorker Magazine, June 26, 1976, pg. 53 |
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