Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingswood
The first part of the Second Amendment suggests to me that some form of obligation to the State exists for people who own firearms. I am not sure what that obligation might be. Maybe the owners of those firearms can be required to join a well-regulated militia on request. Maybe they are required to surrender them on demand to the police (who are themselves a well-regulated militia) when needed to assist with the apprehension of criminals.
Whatever the exact obligations are, in my opinion too much emphasis has been placed on the second part of the amendment (the rights conferred by the amendment) and too little has been paid to the first part (the obligations that go with the rights).
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The obligation (or duty) in question is to defend Americans even against the American government if necessary.
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"I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death."
- George Carlin
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