An Armed Person is a Citizen; An Unarmed Person is a Subject
by Jon Pananas at 6:40 PM
Contrary to the belief of many of our fellow citizens, the purpose of the United States Constitution is not to grant us rights. Our rights, given to us by our Creator, are inalienable. The purpose of the Constitution is to limit the powers of the federal government. Look at the language of the Bill of Rights. It is chock full of “shall not” and “shall make no;” all of which refer to the United States government.
Our explicit rights, that is, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are contingent wholly upon our implicit right: the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The intent of the Second Amendment is to preserve and guarantee, not grant, a pre-existing right; again, the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
Arms, by which we mean guns, allow the free citizen to exercise self-defense; to protect one’s self from predators of various stripes, be they criminal malefactors or rapacious government. St. George Tucker—Revolutionary War officer and later U.S. District Judge—in his Blackstone’s Commentaries of 1803 wrote that “the right of self-defense is the first law of nature.”
The Fourth Amendment—“The right of the people to be secure in their person, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizure, shall not be violated”—would be hollow prose without the Second Amendment to give it teeth. This concept was recognized very early by the Framers. Noah Webster wrote in 1787,
“Before any standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States…[The people] will instantly inspire the inclination to resist the execution of a law which appears to them unjust and oppressive.”
This sentiment was expressed best, perhaps, by one of Virginia’s favorite sons. In 1788, Patrick Henry wrote, “Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches this jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.”
Certainly guns have enormous recreational uses and add hugely to the sporting life of our people. But the intent of the Framers was not to safeguard the rights of target shooters and duck hunters. It was to preserve our freedoms from an aggressive government. Keep in mind that the Framers were insurrectionists. They were well acquainted with the realities of oppressive rule and were determined to give the citizens of this republic the tools necessary to preserve and protect their freedoms.
The Constitution is a document of unique concepts and principles. But it will provide the framework for the Rule of Law in this country only so long as we remain an armed citizenry and do not allow ourselves to become unarmed serfs.
Cross-posted at http://www.laconicblog.blogspot.com
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http://www.mcculloughsite.net/stingray/2007/01/29/an-armed-person-is-a-citizen-an-unarmed-person-is-a-subject.php
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