Bearing in that usage means carrying. > -----Original Message----- > From: Judah McAuley [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 2:42 PM > To: cf-community > Subject: Re: questions from the gun control thread > > On Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 11:34 AM, Michael Dinowitz > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > No laws regarding the ownership of guns, not their usage. > Laws about > > how you use guns and what the result of their usage is does not > > infringe on the amendment. I'm all for that. You can own a gun, you > > can carry a gun, you can make love to a gun, but once you > fire it you > > are bound by laws beyond the constitution which may result > in a fine, imprisonment, or even death. > > I tend to think that this is how things ought to go, but I'm > not sure if that interpretation is supported by a plain text > reading. The amendment says "keep and bear arms". Keeping > arms is pretty straight forward, it is a passive act meaning > you can own them and have them. > Bearing arms is a bit tougher. Bearing is an active word and > it is transactional. "Bearing false witness" means to > actively lie, not just think bad thoughts. So bearing arms > would seem to be about how you use the arms, not just sheer ownership. > > I'm really glad that I am not writing a constitution. Could > you imagine people pouring over the meaning of every comma > and connector word you use for hundreds of years? > > Judah > >
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