Dean Forster wrote:
> this is all beside the point that you don't have to be
> part of the militia at all. the wording is very plain
> and straightforward: (from the same link above)
>
> "These arguments all begin from an unexamined premise:
> that the Constitution and its Bill of Rights can be
> read in bits and pieces so that each provision becomes
> a discrete passage. Such a reading of the first amendment
> would have legislators proclaiming that individual states
> can pass laws abridging freedom of speech, since the
> amendment ties its prohibitions of government action to
> Congress.
Free speech isn't absolute, either. There's the old cliche
about yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater. There are also
laws against libel and slander. Essentially, these are laws
designed to permit as much freedom of speech as possible,
while guarding people against the worst effects of speech.
Doesn't that suggest that gun ownership could have a similar
amount of legislation, for the same purpose, and still be
constitutional? This could include legislation like
registering guns (the same way we register that other
potentially deadly weapon, the car), and setting restrictions
on who can own a gun.
> the foundation of your argument is a comma. I know
> you can do better than this, i've seen it. you're not
> a lawyer, are ya? ;) darn lawyers.
The founding fathers *were* lawyers, or at the very least,
they were very exacting about wording the Constitution in
exactly the way they wanted it. Presumably, they wanted that
comma there for a reason, so it's reasonable to think about
the comma while trying to interpret the Constitution.
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