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While maintaining the potential is remote, a prominent Democratic politician—from Massachusetts of all places—has conceded the insurrectionist component is what "gave rise" to the Second Amendment, and argued an armed populace is still necessary for national defense:
By CALLING ATTENTION to 'a well regulated militia,' the 'security' of the nation, and the right of each citizen 'to keep and bear arms,' our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy. Although it is extremely unlikely that the fears of governmental tyranny which gave rise to the Second Amendment will ever be a major danger to our nation, the Amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic civilian-military relationships, in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country. For that reason I believe the Second Amendment will always be important.
On the other hand, a Republican colleague from New York failed miserably when asked about the right to keep and bear arms:
I DO NOT BELIEVE that the 2nd Amendment has much relevancy to today's world. To my mind, it means that neither the Congress nor states can pass legislation in respect to the prohibition of arms where such legislation would be inimical to the maintenance state militia. However, I do not think that it in any way interdicts the power of Congress or states to control the shipment and ownership of arms in situations that cannot be related to sound, organized militia strength.
The first guy sounds like one of those gunloon "hatriot" militia types the anti-gunners and other "progressives" are always warning us about, doesn't he? And this isn't the first time a leading Democrat has shown a superior understanding of the right to keep and bear arms--the last one we talked about was even considered a leading liberal.
Unfortunately, that was half a century ago. The Democrat? John F. Kennedy.
It's part of "Know Your Lawmakers," a monthly feature provided at the time by GUNS Magazine. Check out some of the others—that Margaret Chase Smith—another Republican-- sounded like quite the piece of work.
Regular readers know that every month, the magazine posts the corresponding month's issue from 50 years ago on its website, providing a valuable insight into a past some of us are old enough to recall.
It must be from a time past—where else would you expect to read an article titled "Policemen Teach Teenagers to Be Straight Shooters"? Check it out:
IN HUNDREDS, literally hundreds, of American cities and communities today, trained, experienced, hard headed but straight thinking policemen are encouraging youngsters to handle loaded guns...
...While profit-seeking newspaper columnists and sob-sisters (male and female) emote in certain ladies' journals over Homicidal Harriet and her murdered little brother while "get rid of guns" hysteria captures neurotic "moms" and the tender-minded of both sexes-thousands of America's best policemen are making a sounder, more practical
approach to the problem.
I'm laughing here...this is great stuff.
Keep turning the pages:
Get a fascinating glimpse behind the Bamboo Curtain in "Guns Make the Law in New China."
Read what it's like to stop a charging bull elephant with "a single shot from [a] Holland & Holland .600...a goliath among Africa's traditionally big guns."
And there's plenty more, including classic period ads (and prices).
So how can you read the April 1960 issue of GUNS? For free?
Easy. Just click here to download this issue in pdf format. And at this writing, you can still download the March, February and January 1960 issues, too.
Enjoy.
For those of you who want more, you can purchase CD-ROMs of GUNS Magazine issues from 1955 through 1957 by clicking here.
Disclosure: GUNS Magazine pays me for my columns. They do not pay me for discussing past issues that I promote on Examiner, nor request it in any way.
Comments
Well if we believe everything we hear in the mainstream media today, the Founding fathers must have been terrorists. The Bill of Rights must also be a terrorist manifesto. Our first President must have been a dangerous extremist.
I remember Charlston Heston's well placed NRA comment "From my cold dead hands". Remember Ft. Hood and other "Gun Free Zones", and how many lives could have been saved, if not for the politically correct libertards.
Neither mentioned the basic moral foundation of gun ownership: sef-defense. In the end it really matters little whether the attacker is wearing sagging Dickies and a hoodie or a badge and body armor -- the right to defend one's person and property is a basic human right inexorably linked to the right to life.
it's funny, having lived here in massachusetts all my life, i've run into so many people who think of themselves as truly libertarian, and in a lot of superficial ways, they often are. so many are "registered independent." of course i see that as a hilarious self-contradictory belief.
and every time the ballot boxes open, they apparently cave in to some manufactured nightmare or another, and fall in with democrats and republicans, split amongst themselves on some subject or another that personally affects them in the negative.
yet sometimes you still see something like this.
sure is weird.
the best most recent example i can give is treasurer cahill (registered independent!) on obamacare and how terrible it is.
Gads now I am feeling old... I not only remember that issue, but the local Police Officers at our club teaching us kids to shoot.
My, how times have changed.
I think the soul of this nation died the day JFK was shot. Who now would speak such enlightened words?
Each adult who is comfortable with the responsibility should own a pistol for self-defense, a shotgun for home defense, and a rifle for defense of the state. If you think the concept of "Minuteman" is outdated, then look around and tell me where our armies are.
David,
I also remember as a kid in school, being taught by my father
and many others how to shoot in organized classes. Some were cops, and we looked at them like an Andy Taylor type, intelligent but easygoing. In Boy Scouts, and after school
competititions, it was the accepted norm.
In High School, there were gun racks with shotguns and rifles and .22's. NOBODY even THOUGHT about shooting someone else. (Well, maybe they did , but it was never acted on, and never spoken of in a serious manner.)
Now, kids are not taught to keep guns, cops have become your worst enemy, and the TV and damned video games enhance that.
I KNOW what happened to our American society since then, and it sickens me. I also know who to blame for it.
May they rot in hell...
David our country has had a major culture shift that I believe was caused knowingly or un-knowingly by the NRA.
David it was common before the passage of the 1968 GCA for children in FFA to buy guns through FFA publications and then have those firearms delivered to the schools so the kids could take them home with them on the school bus.
Boys in 4H would routinely go through firearms training programs and then on their 14th birthday arrangements were made to allow the boys to go buy a firearm.
While most of the firearms were 22 rifles or the occasional 410 or 20 gauge that fact still remained that firearms were being purchased through the mail yet crime and violence was low
The 1968 Gun Control Act (GCA 68) was based on a 1930's gun control law from Nazi Germany. The German law was translated into english by the library of congress at the request of GCA 68's principal "author", Senator Thomas Dodd. References and side by side texts of both documents are available through the JPFO website for those who are interested. Sen. Dodd introduced the bill into the Senate and oversaw its passage.
The NRA opposed passage of GCA 68.
Madashell, you are entitled to your own opinions about the NRA, but you are not entitled to your own facts, or your own version of history.
Opposed, eh?
"We do not think that any sane American, who calls himself an American, can object to placing into this bill the instrument which killed the President of the United States… in the form introduced this morning, the Association supports the bill of Senator Dodd."
Franklin Orth, NRA Executive VP, on the addition of rifles to GCA 68
"We, as an organization, have supported the Dodd bill. As you know, our people worked with Senator Dodd and his committee for many, many months, even prior to this very recent tragedy. We think that it is a good bill as now amended… it does restrict in a reasonable way the mail-order business in guns. We have supported that, and we feel this is a proper thing."
Barlett Rummel, NRA President
"I have been particularly concerned because I think there has been a studied effect to have it appear that the National Rifle Association is opposed. As a matter of fact, I have even received mail from members of that organization who apparently got this impression some way or another. That just is not so. And I worked rather closely with the NRA when I originally drew up this bill. We were in consultation all of the time with NRA, because I felt and I feel now this is a very responsible organization in this country. Mr. Franklin Orth is here, and I asked if he could be here today in case you wanted him to tell you what the attitude of his organization is about this matter."
Senator Thomas J. Dodd
All quotes from "Gun Control," by Robert Kukla, a past Executive Director of NRA/ILA.
DDS, you are entitled to your own opinions about the NRA, but not to your own facts or your own version of history.
Sorry, that last comment was from me; I forgot to fill in the name field.
"Well if we believe everything we hear in the mainstream media today, the Founding fathers must have been terrorists. The Bill of Rights must also be a terrorist manifesto. Our first President must have been a dangerous extremist."
If the French had lost the Battle of the Chesapeake and been unable to assist Washington at Yorktown, all three of your points would be pretty much what our children would be learning in school today. History, and how participants are viewed later, is pretty much controlled by who wins. Prime Minister Begin of Israel was a "terrorist" who led the radical "Irgun" organization in the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, killing many British officers. Had he been captured he surely would have been hung by the British.
Liberalism has slowly been taking over every part of our culture, it has taken 60 years, but, we are now seeing what they are really after. We must, must, must keep our guns and when the day comes to turn them in, it is the day to revolt. They will use force, and we must be prepared to meet force with force and it might mean dying, but I have served in the Army, and I know, in my heart, that the America I love (not the weakened 3rd world country that obama is turning us into) is worth fighting for. we must keep America Free, my grand daughters are counting on us old farts to do the right thing!
I can shoot. I get angry. I've had fights with guys. i've been fired from jobs,. Ive had girlfriends dump me. . But it never entered my mind to pick up a gun and shoot anyone. The gun is in the closet, the pain of life's events is in the heart, they are not related. It is the boot on the neck of the u.s. citizen that causes the anger and hated and need to strike out in the minds of some of these shooters.. When and if they want, they can and will get a gun. But the government uses every incident of their own making to further their grip on the American people. Always remember that any killing , bombing, swine flu, food scare, enables the government to enact or create new laws and restrictions on the American people. Fight back every inch. Nothing they do is for you, the people.
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