The Second Amendment is About the People, Not Only a Militia

Editors’ Note: The following essay by The Prickly Pear’s Journalism Intern was written shortly before the historic Supreme Court decision on June 23rd in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. In that 6–3 ruling, the high court invalidated New York state’s tough concealed-carry gun permitting system with profound effects for the Second Amendment across the United States. Along with several other historic decisions announced over the past 10 days, SCOTUS has breathed life back into the U.S. Constitution for several of our fundamental rights as citizens, i.e., the First and Second Amendments, the guiding light of states’ rights (overturning Roe v. Wade) and limiting the always expanding regulatory overreach of the administrative (executive branch) state, i.e., the EPA, et al. There is much to be thankful for on this July 4th Day of Independence. Celebrate our precious liberty but resolve that as citizens of this Republic, ‘We the People’ will work to maintain it for all generations to follow.

 

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.

 

All the amendments are unquestionably valuable but the Second Amendment is arguably the most important. Without the Second Amendment, we would not be able to protect any of the other rights stated in the Constitution.

Many on the left claim the Second Amendment is obsolete because we no longer have militias. They are correct in saying we no longer have state or local militias. Rather, we have local, state and federal protection agencies such as police officers, National Guard, and the military. Why, then, would we need an amendment the left claims is no longer relevant in the 21st Century?

We need the Second Amendment because it was not only about a ‘well-regulated Militia’, but more essentially about ‘We the People’. The Second Amendment has two parts, dealing with two separate issues, both related to firearms.

America won the Revolutionary War in no small part because of Minute Men who were armed citizens. Minute Men were valuable because, as their name states, they were ready to fight in mere minutes. They didn’t have to ask the Continental Army for arms; they had their own. The Founders knew how valuable these men, together with the Continental Army, were to our fight. Without citizens owning guns, this fight would have been nearly impossible. The militiamen who fought and won our independence were armed citizens.

Each of the amendments were passed in the U.S. Senate and approved by the states before being added to the Bill of Rights. A proposal for the wording of the Second Amendment to the Senate could have inserted either “the common defense” or “for their common good” after “the right to keep and bear arms”. The Senate purposely rejected both of these proposals, with author and lawyer Stephen Halbrook noting “Rejection of both expressed an intent that keeping and bearing arms and assembly include private, as well as public, lawful purpose, and that the citizens, not the government, have the freedom to choose which arms to keep and for what purpose to assemble”. The Senate consciously did not limit the use of arms to defense, a common good, or the Militia. They wanted the people to make educated decisions for themselves, and the Senate knew Americans were capable of making those decisions.

The point is, the militia and the people are two different, yet related, statements within one amendment. The Founders knew the people needed guns just as much, if not more than the Militia – or today’s local, state and federal protection agencies. American citizens have the right to own firearms not to instigate violence, but to ensure peace, freedom, and safety.

How do you stop a bad guy with a gun committing a crime endangering a person or oneself? This is a question Second Amendment supporters regularly ask of gun-confiscation supporters. As Will Witt points out in a Man on the Street video, the only way to protect citizens and promote safety is to have good, law-abiding citizens with guns. This does not mean police officers, but armed citizens looking out for their families and the community.

As I learned at a Hillsdale College lecture, in a republic, the citizens are the state. Similarly, in a republic, bearing arms is a civic duty. The government is not separate from the people, the people are the government. We know how, and have the means to, protect ourselves from both domestic and foreign dangers and threats.

The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, killing a total of 2,403 Americans, occurred on December 7, 1941. Only 68 of those deaths were citizen deaths. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese could have landed their forces to take the citizens of Hawaii hostage. They did not land because they knew American citizens had the right to bear arms, and many of them owned guns. They knew the gun-owning Americans could use their guns well and would fight for their families. Just the threat of an armed citizenry kept the residents of Hawaii safe.

An overwhelming majority of mass shootings transpire in gun-free zones. The only outcome of gun-free zones is the disarming of law-abiding citizens. Criminals carry out shootings in gun-free zones because, as written above, they know there will be no armed law-abiding citizens in those zones. Essentially, everyone in a gun-free zone is a sitting duck.

Yes, guns can injure and kill, but most importantly, guns protect. The gun doesn’t pull the trigger, a human does. The gun does not choose whom to kill, a human does. The naïve believe that denying law abiding citizens their constitutional right to own and possess firearms will somehow eliminate the criminal behavior and violence seen every day in our most highly gun-regulated cities and this will somehow magically fix these tragic and recurring problems. We should rather teach citizens from an early age why the Second Amendment is a fundamental right along with knowledge of gun safety and responsibility.

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Ellie Fromm is currently serving at The Prickly Pear as a Journalism Intern. Ms. Fromm is entering her senior year of high school and has been home schooled since preschool.