Today the issue of gun control is a hot topic. Many pro-gun activists cite the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution as a clear indicator of the freedom of the people to bear arms. The Second Amendment reads, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” They jump at the phrase, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,” but I think a lot of people seem to skim past the introductory clause, which is very important. You see, some pro-gun activists seem to want zero government involvement in the sale of firearms. This is not what our founding fathers called for nor what the Constitution provides for. The Second Amendment established the principle of “a well regulated militia”. Yes, regulations are constitutional and necessary. That said, read this brief history of American militias.
Militias in America actually predate the independence of the United States itself. Colonial militias were in action as early as the French and Indian Wars and unofficial civilian militaries were in action even before then during the Native American wars of New England in the late 1600s and early 1700s. Militias played an enormous part in the American Revolution. It was Colonial militiamen that confronted the British at Lexington and Concord and later at acted as a secondary civilian army under the oversight of the Continental Army.
After the Revolution the militias remained intact and they grew in popularity, largely due to an increased sense of patriotism and nationalisn that was expressed in the concept of the militia. Early government leaders, including President Washington, doubted the reliability of militias. The popularity of the militias decreased after the War of 1812. This was largely due to the difficulties the United States faced from uncooperative militias and the subsequent weakness of the American standing army.
Today there are hints of militia-like movements among pro-gun activists. We need to remember the importance that the founding fathers placed on the “regulation” of the militias.
Let us conclude with the words of James Madison, “A well regulated militia, composed of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country.” The founding fathers stood for the right of the American people to bear arms, but within the bounds of a well regulated militia. The move to disarm the American people is unconstitutional but so is any attempt to do away with regulations.