The Origins of the Second Amendment

 Today, at the American Thinker Texas Hughes in a post entitled Keeping arms and militia service was historically mandatory gives us a lesson on the origins of our Second Amendment. I must admit I did not know that it went back to King Henry II. I did know that in England, able bodied men had to own a longbow and arrows and to practice at certain times on the town green for purposes of defense of the kingdom. But then he goes into more of the thinking that led to this development, which is where it gets more interesting.

The roots of the government’s recognition of our right to keep and bear arms began with King Henry II in 1181. It was, in fact, mandatory in England’s first American colony.

"In the nearly five hundred years since King Henry II issued his Assize of Arms in 1181, the citizens of England and, later Great Britain had for the most part assumed communal responsibility for military defense. … Within two decades of the landing at Jamestown, for instance, the fledgling Virginia legislature passed laws requiring all able-bodied freemen between the ages of seventeen and sixty to own weapons and be ready to serve in the dominion’s militia." — Blood and Treasure by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin

This is the deep root of our Constitution’s Second Amendment. It combines the obligation to keep and bear arms with the duty of military service. It mandates that able-bodied male citizens endure the harshness of military service, and the bodily risks of fighting and killing our enemies.

844 years establishes a long history of keeping and bearing arms for militia service and in fact goes back further still. But what about the philosophy behind King Henry II edict? This is where Hughes clarifies exactly the purpose of the Second Amendment. Note that while one of the Second Amendment's purposes was defense of the United States, that other lawful purposes were also included. Those other lawful purposes include training with arms, self-defense and defense against wild animals, target shooting, sports shooting and hunting. The keeping of guns has been called by anti-gunners a "hobby." And while some aspects of keeping guns, such as collecting may be a hobby, the basic right it is not a "hobby" at all, but a civic duty of all men who are citizens.

Keeping guns is a key legal right because it serves our nation’s needs. Fighting to defend our nation is the just, obligatory duty of men who enjoy the benefits of living in our nation.

This is a core civic duty among citizens — to fight for what we have. That requires weapons and military service.

Those trying to disarm free men want to enslave us with the tyrannies that thrive over unarmed people. Wannabe tyrants will have to whip us in combat to have their way.

Please note that the obligation to defend our nation does not include illegal aliens. They violated our laws to steal a share of the bounty created by a free citizenry operating a capitalistic meritocracy arising from our Western values.

Illegals want to steal wealth and safety they did not create. Better for us, and humanity, that they stay home and fight the battles necessary to create what we have where they came from. I’m happy to give them some weapons and aid to do so.

To the last point, I am happy to sell them arms, but they must do the fighting for their own society. No "color revolutions" with CIA, and no taxpayer funds. As far as I am concerned, we have no business getting into other country's affairs. We have enough problems of our own.