On July 3, I was manning an information table at Manchester, NH’s Independence Day Celebration. We had hundreds of attendees visit our table. One of the items of interest on our table was a firing replica colonial-era musket. Many of the visitors asked to be photographed holding the musket, which we were happy to do. We had one negative visitor, however.
A woman pointed to the musket on the table and asked me, “What is that?” I initially thought that she was interested in learning about the history of the musket and how it was used, but her countenance quickly changed into the pinched-face expression of which white leftist women are noted. I answered, “A musket.” Before I could go on, she retorted in an angry voice, “That is what the 2nd Amendment was for.” Before I could offer a reply, she angrily stormed off, believing that she had set a nasty right-winger straight on the true meaning of the 2nd Amendment.
The 2nd Amendment wasn’t ratified until December 15, 1791, along with nine other amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The Revolutionary War was fought from 1775 to 1783. So, employing her logic, it was illegal to own a musket prior to the ratification of the 2nd Amendment. Can you imagine Captain Parker of the Lexington Militiamen obeying the demand of Major John Pitcairn to lay down their arms, saying, “Gee, we are sorry. We don’t have a right to own these nasty weapons of war. Let’s go home, boys.”
If we applied the same line of reasoning as the pinched-faced woman, we could conclude that the 1st Amendment only concerns speech that was spoken or written in a newspaper, a circular letter, a book, or a broadside (poster or flyer), since they were the only means of communication in 1791. It doesn’t include the promotion of speech in future formats such as the telegraph, telephone, radio, television, and the internet, as well as numerous social media platforms. But back to the 2nd Amendment.
The 2nd Amendment did not give us a right to keep and bear arms. We already had that right. The U.S. Constitution wasn’t a rights-granting document; it was a rights-protecting document. The word “right” didn’t appear in the original Constitution, and none of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention believed that their creation was a rights-granting document. It was a limited powers-granting document. The Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments), however, used the word “right” six times and never did it grant rights.
Here they are:
1st Amendment: “…the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (This also answers former CNN commentator Chris Cuomo when he was defending the Antifa and Black Lives Matter riots. He said, “Where does it say that demonstrations have to be peaceful?”
2nd Amendment:
“…the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
4th Amendment:
‘The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…”
6th Amendment: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial…”
7th Amendment: In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved…”
And the 9th in its entirety:
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
The 9th Amendment was added due to concerns that listing certain rights may imply that others did not exist. In Justice Joseph Story’s “Commentaries on the Constitution, he wrote:
“the clause was manifestly introduced to prevent any perverse, or ingenious misapplication of the well known maxim, that an affirmation in particular cases implies a negation in all others.”
While the woman mentioned above and her legion of fellow “pinch faces” would vehemently deny it, the purpose of a government of a free people is to protect God-given rights. John Adams once said that “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” How right he was.
Readers who would like a free pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution, email me a campconstitution@gmail.com.
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