Face Palm

 At Bearing Arms today, Tom Knighton has a post entitled Founder of Liberal Site: Right To Own Guns was Made Up.

Oh boy. As Knighton points out:

The right to keep and bear arms longs predates the invention of guns. Originally, it encompassed spears, bows, swords, and so on. It was long held that a man had a right to defend himself from attack and, as such, had the right to have whatever tools he could afford to use in that effort.

However, not everyone agrees. Some people think the right to keep and bear arms is really about states despite the Second Amendment’s use of the term “people’s right.” It seems people only mean people and not states when it’s convenient. Some people think the right is entirely fictional.

One such person, though, is Josh Marshall, the founder of the liberal website Talking Point Memo, who tweeted this on Wednesday.

                "Just to remind everyone, the individual right to own and use firearms is completely made up                     and the product of NRA funded activism."

Wow.

Just…wow.

How completely uneducated do you have to be to imagine this was made up by NRA activism. First, the Second Amendment’s plain text says “the people’s right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” What on Earth could that mean other than the right to own guns? If you couldn’t own the gun, who were you keeping it for? Someone had to own it, for crying out loud.

Keep in mind that the revolution was fought with guns and cannon as well as swords, knives and bayonets.  The Founders were thus aware of all the terrible implements of war available at the time.  They also were aware of the existence of repeating arms, and I believe that could conceive of future improvements to such weapons.  Interestingly, the Founders left behind many statements indicating that the Second Amendment means exactly what it says.  These statements are easily looked up.  But here's the thing: the revolution began in 1776. The Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791. The NRA was not founded until after the Civil War in 1871. So how could the NRA, founded 80 years after the Bill of Rights that included the Second Amendment, influence that document?  This is just historical ignorance.

Please go read Knighton's post and see for yourself what passes for "thought" on the other side.