SilentStalker
Member
Well, yes they do know what they were thinking. The militia was the only defense the country had at that time. The militias were organized by the states. In effect they were the only army the country had. The militias were paid by the federal gov't as they were needed. Many people felt a standing federal army was too expensive and too dangerous to a new republic. They felt the same thing about a Navy until the war of 1812. The federal gov't didn't have a lot of money in those days like they have now.
I know a lot of people don't agree with me on this but 2A was to insure that the federal gov't could never restrict a state from raising an army from the civilian population. A guarantee that the federal gov't would never be more powerful than the states. To reinforce that the Posse Comitatus Act was passed by congress after the civil war to limit the powers of the fed using federal military personnel to enforce domestic policies within the US.
2A was there to restrict the federal government's power over the people (states). It says just exactly that, .
Very ironic that it's mostly the states doing the restricting now with the fed being mostly hands off.
It is ironic that it is the states mostly doing the restricting. I guess that’s fine with me but if a state wants to raise its own standing army or be a pro 2A safe haven then they need to be equally hands off. Would they be if it came down to that?
The way I see it, by your reasoning is that the states do still have a right to raise their own army, but what happens if say Kansas doesn’t agree with what the rest of the country wants and they decide to secede from any federal control. I could totally see the US more or less blockading and bullying the state back into their control! Do you see where I am going with this? At that point, does the guard and any weapons that is in the state now belong to Kansas or the feds? Say Kansas ceded back all weapons that belonged to the US and wanted to buy their own. The feds could simply block all routes into the state and essentially keep them from setting up their own military. So, if you look at it like that, what’s the point of the individual state retaining such power if it cannot be effectively used? Obviously, the states on the coast would be a little better off in this example but it could still be done.
It would be much easier to control and bully a state than it would be an entire nations population. Does that make sense? So, while yes the state could raise its own army, does it really have the power to do so and be on a level playing field with the rest of the US? I mean realistically if you look on it as you have presented it’s almost an empty amendment. But put the control back into the entire citizenship of the nation then it’s not. Make sense?
Why do people have to agree and make a stand if a right is granted by God? Does God not defend the rights He grants? How is it that man has the power to revoke the rights granted by God, the rights enumerated by Jefferson? Perhaps we should stick to what we can control?
I think he does defend his rights that he grants and I think we are seeing a battle unfold as we speak. However, it is also a gift left to the people to defend. It’s kind of like his gift of free will. Yes, he will certainly try and tug and lead you down a certain path but he also gives us the power of free will. So, you can still take your own path right or wrong. Same thing applies here in my mind. While he grants the rights we must also try to manage to keep it much in the same way that we must try and continue to seek him when he calls. As far as I’m concerned, man cannot revoke the rights that God granted. That’s my entire point. Politicians like to play like they can but the way the Constitution is presented they really don’t have the ability to do so. The only reason they have tried to get away with it and have in some cases is because an ignorant base has allowed it. Many politicians have forgot that they serve us, not the other way around.
PS I don’t think any politicians can be controlled. I believe they can be bought but many seem to flip on a whim, just depends on the day. Don’t think that just because someone has consistently leaned a specific way that they want just one day flip. It happens, especially when money became involved.