The Words & Grammar of the Second Amendment -- Take 2

Does the Second Amendment really give Americans an absolute right to automatic weapons? 

Surely we can all agree that the Framers of the Constitution used language carefully. And that the Framers never imagined the right to bear arms as empowering sociopathic individuals to use assault weapons because of the urgings of their private, horrific demons.

Let’s look beyond the 14 last words of the Amendment –  “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” We’ve heard those 14 words a lot lately.

What about the Amendment’s first 13 words? “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state.”

First look at the key terms:

·      Regulated: operating under laws and rules.


·      Militia: armed citizens acting together under the control of law or constituted authority.

·      Security: safety.

·      Free State: a political body governed by the will of its people.

Clear enough: These opening words emphasize rules and laws, constituted authority, defense of the American nation from external threats, and safety. They speak of collective behavior, not individual behavior. They say nothing about hunting, protection from home invaders, vigilantism, or even sportsmanship. 

Now consider the grammar of these 13 words. They constitute an absolute. The Framers studied grammar in school, so they understood this old-fashioned form. They knew that starting a sentence with an absolute emphasizes it. They also knew that an absolute answers the question When, why and under what conditions is the main clause true?

Maybe the Amendment would be clearer if it were expressed as a Q and A:

·      Question: When and under what conditions should “the right of the people to keep and bear arms . . . not be infringed”?

·      Answer: If or when “a well regulated militia [is] necessary to the security of a free state.”

·      Question: Why should “the right of the people to keep and bear arms . . . not be infringed”?

·      Answer: Because “a well regulated militia [is] necessary to the security of a free state.”

In other words: If or when America’s safety needs defending, then Americans bearing arms must be organized, trained, and regulated.

This close reading of the Second Amendment persuades me that the Framers envisioned the right to bear arms as a means to insure America’s defense by a citizen army. I believe that the Framers did not mean to empower anyone to go armed anywhere, anytime, with little or no regulation. Nor did they intend us to place arms and live ammunition in our schools, theaters, places of worship, and elsewhere that Americans gather for peaceful purposes. 

To me this is absolutely clear.