Phyrfight Intel

This is an exchange between a reader in New York and the editor of the Federalist Patriot newsletter.

“In your article ‘The Gun Problem,’ (No. 05-13) you quote the Second Amendment, sort of. You and many other people conveniently omit the first half of the amendment, which refers to a militia. Our soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea, etc., are militias. Our National reserves, National Guard are militias. I am not a militia, you are not a militia. This amendment refers to militias only. People like you need to quit omitting the first half of the amendment.” –New York, New York

Editor’s Reply: Open a history book and read up on who comprised the ready “militia” in 1787, and you will find it was the citizenry, not a standing army or organized reserve army. It is clear in the writings of our Founders that “well regulated militia” meant “a vigilant and prepared citizenry.” Our founders universally detested standing armies, as, historically, they had been used by monarchies to oppress the will of the people. Thus, our Founders wisely determined that the best provision for the preservation of liberty was that the people be armed. Accordingly, Justice Joseph Story, appointed to the Supreme Court by the author of our Constitution, James Madison, noted, “The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic…” Indeed, historians have long confirmed this understanding, and more than a few court cases have cited it. For the record, “people like you need to quit omitting” the Historic context of the word “militia.”