Thread by @YNot_1989

1: Ever wonder what the founders meant by "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?"

It doesn't mean what you think.

#GunOwnersForSafety #GunControlNow

2: There are 3 things you hear about the 2nd Amendment from gun nuts.
1. Its for self defense/personal liberty
2. Its so the people can overthrow a tyrannical government.
3. Its for hunting.

All three of these arguments are complete BS.

3: Self protection has nothing to do with the 2nd Amendment. Its purpose was to safeguard the Republic through the establishment of militias akin to those that helped form the Continental Army. To achieve this, several regulations were imposed from the outset of the Republic.

4: Firearm registration - Every state (except for Pennsylvania who blocked the creation of a militia) enrolled citizens 16-60 in state-regulated militias and required the registration and proper care and maintenance of all firearms within that state.
books.google.com/books?id=qoY2A…

5: Safe Storage Laws - From the founding, there were laws against improper storage of firearms, again, largely stemming from the treatment of the population as a citizen militia and imposing the regulations on the proper storage of weapons and ammunition upon that militia.

6: Open Carry Bans - While Open Carry was the norm at first, by the end of the 18th century the legal norm had shifted to bans on open carry becoming the norm due to increased availability of firearms which led to soaring murder rates, particularly in the South.

7: Private ownership bans and loyalty oaths - During the American Revolution itself, the Continental Congress and state governments imposed disarmament policies on the civilian population...
founders.archives.gov/documents/Adam…

8: ...and the right to bear arms was almost always conditional on the swearing of a loyalty oath to the Government. Individuals who refused were disarmed.

9: Its also worth noting that the idea that the Founders (sans Jefferson, and only when he wasn't in power) did not want the public to rise up against the government they just created, and the constitution defined such an act as treason.

10: So, if you want the 2nd Amendment to be applied based on the things the Founders actually did, then every citizen should be drafted into the Army or Naval Reserves at age 16 until age 60 and have the same firearm requirements as the US military even when not on active duty.

11: #CommonSenseGunLaws would actually be pretty lax by the standards of the Founders.