It says what they say it says

Though I'm rather sick of the subject (and my recent big post said about as much as I want to say), this post is another about the Second Amendment and guns. Dave, the fine writer at 4 Quarters, 10 Dimes, gives us some background on the amendment.

Dave's first big point is that we need to look at the Bill of Rights in the same way that the Founding Fathers did. We tend to think the way they thought of things is the same way we think of things. But their political point of view disappeared about 1820.

That reminds me of the difficulty in properly interpreting the Bible. It has been less than 225 years since the Constitution was written and already there is a disconnect. The Bible was written more than 1900 years ago and yet we still believe their worldview, their understanding of God, is the same as ours.

When the Constitution was written the driving force was to make sure Power doesn't take over Liberty. That was done through the balance of powers -- the Prez. (the One) is balanced by the Supremes (the Few), and the Congress (the Many). The biggest fear at the time was that the One could take over, resulting in tyranny (which does not mean a gov't doing something I don't like). Tyranny can destroy liberty.

So the Second Amendment was a fallback position. If the Many and the Few couldn't control the One, the states (not the individual) could raise an army and defeat the tyrant.

On to Dave's second big point. The history of the Second Amendment may be all fine and dandy, but the Constitution is a living document. "It is not something handed down from on high, inviolate and obvious." The Constitution means what the Supreme Court says it means and that meaning lasts until the Supreme Court says something new.

The Supreme Court and the latest rulings on guns is a big example of judicial activism. But whether I agree with the Court or not, they did their job. They interpreted the Constitution.

Dave notes one detail in the ruling. Though an individual has a right to carry the gun, the Supremes, in a decision written by Scalia, "Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited." Meaning, gun control is Constitutional.

Now to convince Congress that some people shouldn't have guns.