|
Forum Rules | Firearms Safety | Firearms Photos | Links | Library | Lost Password | Email Changes |
Register | FAQ | Calendar | Today's Posts | Search |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
November 17, 2016, 06:36 PM | #26 | |
Staff
Join Date: September 27, 2008
Location: Foothills of the Appalachians
Posts: 13,059
|
Quote:
(The first draft of Virginia's constitution actually required people to bring their guns to church on Sundays.) In fact, many areas had regular musters, in which citizens were expected to prove ownership of and proficiency with firearms on a regular basis. As the 20th century rolled on, the idea of having police forces took hold in major cities. Citizens delegated a great deal of power and authority to these organizations. The result was that defense of the community and individual was delegated to the state. It follows that, if I have the police to protect me, why do I need to own a gun? Furthermore, why do you need to have them? After all, the state will protect us. Sound familiar? As for standing armies, the founders were great students of history. When the plans for the structure and nature of the republic were being formed, they looked at prior failures and learned from them. Standing armies have always been the tools of would-be tyrants, and that was one of the most emphatic prohibitions Jefferson (among others) could envision.
__________________
Sometimes it’s nice not to destroy the world for a change. --Randall Munroe |
|
November 17, 2016, 08:04 PM | #27 |
Staff
Join Date: March 11, 2006
Location: Upper US
Posts: 28,833
|
Organized police forces predate the 20th century by quite a few years in some places (large cities), though I will credit their increased influence from the late 1800s on...
Well aware of the dangers of a standing army, the Founders believed that militias would be enough, and in the technology of the 18th century, they actually could be. You can train a plowboy to be an acceptable soldier in a few weeks. The Militia was to provide a framework & training (well regulated) so that there would be a core of people to draw on, at need, that didn't need a few weeks training, they already had it. The Founders also recognized that this approach would not work with the Navy. Sailing ships were the most complex and "high tech" things to operate that existed in their world, and you can't turn a farmboy into a sailor capable of working the ship in just a few weeks. Much longer is required, even with a standing frame work for support, it takes time, so a standing navy was needed. Also unlike an army, the physical reach of the Navy on land was limited, so the threat to liberty of a standing naval force was much, much less than that of a standing army.
__________________
All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better. |
November 17, 2016, 09:38 PM | #28 | |
Staff
Join Date: September 25, 2008
Location: CONUS
Posts: 18,468
|
Quote:
|
|
November 18, 2016, 04:26 PM | #29 |
Staff
Join Date: March 11, 2006
Location: Upper US
Posts: 28,833
|
I'd say the politically managed war in VietNam and the apparently endless War on Terror are excellent illustrations of "tyrants" playing with a standing army.
I also think that the years long activation and combat of National Guard units is a shameless abuse of the men and women who serve. We defeated Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and Imperial Japan in less than 5 full years. We should have done better against "terrorists".
__________________
All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better. |
November 18, 2016, 05:18 PM | #30 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 8, 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 3,787
|
I was listening to an audio book while laid up after surgery a couple of months ago, a biography of Alexander Hamilton. My ears perked up when they read from a letter written by him when he was a teen in the Virgin Islands. It used the phrase "well-regulated militia" to refer to a requirement that males keep a firearm at home. The purpose was primarily to put down slave rebellions, as the sugar plantations were the primary economic driver, and the conditions were brutal. The use of the exact phrase and its disconnect from the meaning that gun control proponents insist upon was striking.
|
November 18, 2016, 10:38 PM | #31 |
Staff
Join Date: March 11, 2006
Location: Upper US
Posts: 28,833
|
"Well regulated" was a term often used in the 1700s, and later. And it NEVER meant covered by laws and regulations, until the modern era.
It meant "worked right" or "in proper working order" , that everything did what it was supposed to do. A well regulated clock or watch was one that kept proper time, neither fast nor slow. Gunsmiths "regulated" double barrels so both barrels had the same point of impact at a given range, a term still used in gunsmithing today. A well regulated militia meant that the members showed up when called out, had their own weapon and a basic supply of ammo, had their own camping gear, (bedroll, canteen, etc) and knew the rudiments of military drill. In the 1800s, well regulated was also used for engines (steam) that would run without constant adjustment, and the railroad was well regulated when the trains ran on time. I'm sure other examples could be found, those are just off the top of my head..
__________________
All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better. |
November 18, 2016, 11:13 PM | #32 | |
Staff
Join Date: September 25, 2008
Location: CONUS
Posts: 18,468
|
Correct on the "well regulated." I knew I recently saw a discussion of that, but it took me awhile to find it. Here 'tis:
http://ezine.m1911.org/showthread.ph...6-U-S-Election Quote:
Link to the Militia Act of 1792: http://www.constitution.org/mil/mil_act_1792.htm |
|
November 21, 2016, 05:33 PM | #33 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 8, 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 3,787
|
Agreed entirely about the meaning of "well regulated." I just thought the phrase being used in the context of a militia in a letter by the teenage Hamilton might be some more ammo in discussing these matters with unbelievers.
|
|
|