Opinion: What happened to a ‘well regulated Militia’?
First off, I would like to acknowledge our community for coming together after the tragedy that occurred at King Soopers in Table Mesa. I shop there, and could easily have been there on that Monday afternoon. Also, thanks to the Daily Camera for the following Sunday edition’s story, which made the awful events very personal and real. This all reminded me of a question that has been on my mind for some time: How did the Second Amendment, which includes the phrase, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, …” become interpreted as creating an individual’s right to “bear arms”, rather than the collective right that the “well regulated Militia” language would imply? So I looked it up. Wikipedia has an excellent and lengthy discussion. I don’t claim to be an expert on this, but here are some things I learned. The various states’ militias were seen by people in the 18th century as protection against potential oppression by the federal army, since no ...