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Originally Posted by debaser
You make quite a leap from well regulated to organized.
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According to Title X of the US Code there are two classifications of militias: organized or unorganized. Well regulated militia fits better into organized because they are regulated by the structure of the organization.
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Originally Posted by debaser
Well regulated in the parlance of the times actually meant well trained.
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Not according to my English professor. The language still meant regulated as we say it today according to someone who know more about the language of that time than I ever will. I'll see if I can find a link online, but the internet is swamped with pro gun propaganda, so I don't hold out much hope.
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Originally Posted by debaser
Perhaps a better tact would be to properly train all members of the militia so that by the age of 17 they have some formal firearms training rather than just playing Doom.
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That means properly training future criminals, too. I can't live with that.
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Originally Posted by debaser
By the way the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled the 2nd Amendment to be an individual right, not a collective one. Of course this only makes sense given its context in the constitution.
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I can't say it's either collective or individual. It's more organization based. Members of said well regulated militia are provided the Constitutionally protected right to bear arms so long as they follow the laws of the land.
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Originally Posted by debaser
Why would the framers throw a collective right in the mix with 9 individual rights in a document called the Bill of Rights which was specifically written to [guarantee] individual freedoms?
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The right to free press is organization based.
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Originally Posted by debaser
Perhaps you should look at the 2nd Amendment from the opposite direction: An armed populace insures the ability of the state to draw upon [competent] (or well trained) citizens for its militia if needed.
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But it also arms everyone, be they emotionally sound or sociopath. Not only that but the temptation of using the gun is always there. In a dangerous situation, if everyone pulls a gun, we get constant gun fights and a lot of people can die.
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Originally Posted by debaser
And what happens if just one gun gets through the net into the hands of a violent criminal?
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They do already. If it's more difficult to get a gun, it's more difficult to carry out gun related crime.
How often are gun crimes stopped by civilians that carry? Now compare that to how often gun crimes would happen if guns were very difficult to get.