“The American Revolutionary Era Origin of the Second Amendment's Clauses, my recently published article in the JOURNAL ON FIREARMS & PUBLIC POLICY, Volume 23 (2011), is now available online,” author David E. Young advises Gun Rights Examiner in a December 23 email.
Young, the subject of a WarOnGuns interview in May, 2008, is the author of The Origin of the Second Amendment and The Founders' View of the Right to Bear Arms, and is a leading and acknowledged authority on the subject: His work was cited in DC v Hellerby Justice Scalia in the majority ruling that "The Second Amendment protects an individual right."
“This is a relatively short article that accomplishes what Prof. Jack Rakove and the professional historians completely failed to do in their Heller brief supporting Washington DC,” Young tells Gun Rights Examiner. “It links the Second Amendment directly to the earlier state bills of rights, identifies the primary author of the Second Amendment's predecessors, George Mason, and examines how he used the ‘well regulated militia’ terminology before including it in America's first state bill of rights, that of Virginia in 1776.”
“The two men most involved in development of the Second Amendment and rest of the U.S. Bill of Rights in 1788-1789, George Mason and James Madison, were on the committee that drew up and approved Virginia's 1776 Declaration of Rights,” Young says.” Thus, both men fully understood the ‘well regulated militia’ language originated in reference to self-organizing, self-arming, self-officering, self-training, self-embodying men voluntarily associating for defense against government forces employed to violate the constitution and the people's rights.”
“This article documents both clauses of the Second Amendment were understood and used by the Founders to protect the right of individuals to keep and bear arms,” Young concludes.
Click here to read The American Revolutionary Era Origin of the Second Amendment's Clauses.
Also see:
- The War on Guns: David E. Young Interview
- GUNS Magazine: The founders' view of the right to bear arms
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Meet the new boss…same as the old boss
From Oregon Firearms Federation:
Out with the old, in with...the old?
As you know, Senator Suzanne Bonamici resigned her Oregon Senate seat to seek the Congressional seat held by her family friend, David Wu.
This was great news for gun owners.
Bonamici was a reliable follower of anti-gun zealot, Floyd Prozanski, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and worked overtime to kill or pervert pro-gun bills. Bonamici also sat on that committee, and always voted with Prozanski against your rights. So it was with much relief that we bid her farewell. Of course, the idea of her going to Congress is dreadful, but at least she’s out of our hair.
Yesterday the Oregonian reported that Bonamici’s vacant Senate seat is being filled by Elizabeth Steiner Hayward.
We don’t know much about her except that calls were made on her behalf by friends Ron Wyden and Earl Blumenauer, both of whom are committed gun grabbers. There is not much reason to be optimistic.
Hayward will not necessarily be assigned to Judiciary. The State website still has Bonamici listed as a member of the committee. We will let you know when that changes.
In the meantime, there are still a few days left to get your Oregon tax credit if you have not already done so. Remember, we need to receive it by December 31 if want to tax advantage of the credit for the 2011 tax year. For more information click here.
To make a secure online donation, click here. Please be sure to pick Political Action Committee from the drop down menu. Donations qualify for a tax credit of up to $50.00 for persons who file alone and $100.00 for couples filing jointly.
Best wishes for a very happy Christmas.
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Spead the word
Regular readers: If you agree that mainstream press coverage of the gun rights issue demands a counter-balance, please help me spread the word by sharing Gun Rights Examiner links with your friends via emails, and in online discussion boards, blogs, social media sites, etc. Then get more commentary at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance.
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