Glenn Reynolds notes that a poll being run by USA Today asks the question:
But that answer is wrong. The Second Amendment doesn't "give" anybody any rights at all. The purpose of the United States Constitution is not to "give" individuals or groups any rights, but to compel the Federal government, and thereby State and local governments, to recognize and respect the rights that individuals already have.
Here's what the Second Amendment says:
So where did that right come from? This is what another of our founding documents has to say about that:
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution acknowledge the supremacy of Natural Law. No man-made government, no matter how "democratic," can promulgate any law which would deprive human beings of the rights with which their Creator endowed them. This open acknowledgment of the supremacy of our God-given rights is the surest guarantee of our freedoms.
The Second Amendment does NOT "give" individuals the right to bear arms. God gave us that right. The Second Amendment explicitly forces our government to respect the right that God gave.
Does the Second Amendment give individuals the right to bear arms?So far, the response is 98% "Yes."
But that answer is wrong. The Second Amendment doesn't "give" anybody any rights at all. The purpose of the United States Constitution is not to "give" individuals or groups any rights, but to compel the Federal government, and thereby State and local governments, to recognize and respect the rights that individuals already have.
Here's what the Second Amendment says:
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.The Second Amendment, like the rest of the Constitution, presupposes that people already have rights, and does not presume to grant or define those rights. It merely notes that the right "to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
So where did that right come from? This is what another of our founding documents has to say about that:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.The right of self-defense is an obvious extension of the right to life, and it is a basic and eternal endowment of mankind.
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution acknowledge the supremacy of Natural Law. No man-made government, no matter how "democratic," can promulgate any law which would deprive human beings of the rights with which their Creator endowed them. This open acknowledgment of the supremacy of our God-given rights is the surest guarantee of our freedoms.
The Second Amendment does NOT "give" individuals the right to bear arms. God gave us that right. The Second Amendment explicitly forces our government to respect the right that God gave.
2 comments:
THIS IS A BRILLIANT POST ON AN IMPORTANT POINT.
IN FACT, A POINT WHICH IS CENTRAL TO WHAT DIVIDES THE LEFT FROM THE RIGHT:
THE LEFT BELIEVES THE STATE GRANTS RIGHTS;
THE RIGHT BELIEVES THEY ARE NATURAL, AND THAT WE CEDE SOME OF OUR RIGHTS TO CREATE A STATE FOR OUR CONVENIENCE AND MUTUAL BENEFIT.
THE DECLARATION AND THE CONSTITUTION ARE CLEARLY OF THE LATTER AND NOT THE PRIOR.
THE DEMS - BEING A PARTY OF THE LEFT - WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE ALL THAT.
WE MUSTN'T LET THEM.
FOR THE CHILDREN.
Great post, Punditarian.
Thanks for reminding us.
Post a Comment