Thread by @HeroofSaratoga

BENEDICT'S BENEDICTIONS: A weekly thread where I will share unpopular opinions and attempt to clarify accusations, misunderstandings, and gross interpretations of events. This week, a gross interpretation of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The 2nd Amendment is among

the most controversial and often misinterpreted Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. During its proposal James Madison wrote "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country:

but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person." After several committees, resolutions, and votes the final version is the one we know today: "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." Gun enthusiasts, NRA lobbyists, and uneducated defenders of the 2nd Amendment focus primarily on the right to bear arms and either ignore or don't realize that the Amendment also talks about a state armed

militia, being necessary to defend the security of the U.S. They fail to understand that this 18th century document was written with the intention of forming an emergency army in case of an impending invasion that came (in what became known as the War of 1812). The leaders of

the time also feared such an amendment can lead to tyranny. During the Virginia Ratification Convention, Patrick Henry stated "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force.

Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined." The current interpretation of the 2nd Amendment is the decisions in both District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010). The Heller decision in particular completely changed the aspect of

the 2nd Amendment by upholding that an individual has the right to bear arms, specifically for the purpose of self-defense and that the Amendment's "prefatory clause announces the purpose but does not limit or expand the second part, the operative clause." supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/…

What that decision essentially means is that the first portion of the 2nd Amendment (well-regulated militia) is only a guideline to what the Supreme Court believes is the actual intent (right to bear arms) giving an already systemic problem of gun violence tabula rasa. With the

gung-ho culture prevalent in the U.S. it is impossible to ban all weapons especially with an organization such as the NRA contributing to many incumbent politicians. Do I believe in the right to bear arms? Absolutely. Should there be sensible gun control laws? Without a doubt.

But for anyone who is wondering my centrist stance, allow me to illuminate you. The Heller decision alongside a militarized police state and National Guard has made the 2nd Amendment as it was ratified obsolete. You can easily learn self-defense classes in MMA or buy a handgun.

However when you have people owning an armory of weapons thinking they're Patrick Swayze in Red Dawn destroying communities, it's time to take the gun shows and the shooting ranges away. Robert Levy may have bankrolled the case in the lower courts with diverse plaintiffs

washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content…, but let's be realistic, if Dick Heller was African-American the Supreme Court would not have voted in favor of Heller. The infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford (1856) which ruled that Scott had no legal standing to sue in federal court since he was not

considered a U.S. citizen also ruled that were African-Americans given citizenship "it would give to persons of the negro race, who were recognized as citizens in any one State of the Union, the right ... to keep and carry arms wherever they went." caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-cou…

Organizations such as the Black Panther Party, which armed African-Americans against police brutality and helped institute food programs such as Breakfast for Children was also harassed by the FBI and constantly undermined by Hoover who considered them "the greatest threat to the

internal security of the country." archive.org/stream/finalre… the 2nd Amendment for all intents and purposes is a straw man argument for the last grasp of white power. Once sensible gun laws are applied to everyone equally will I think that the right to bear arms is constitutional.