The Bastardization of the 2nd Amendment by the NRA
Posted on the 29 January 2013 by Mikeb302000
Op-ed in The Gazette
The
National Rifle Association is misrepresenting the Second Amendment and
the men who created it. The founders never intended the amendment as
justification for citizens to make war on their government.
George
Washington, desperate to retire to Mount Vernon, only agreed to attend
the Constitutional Convention because of his concerns about the
inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation. The weak Continental
Congress and its inability to supply his army’s needs throughout the war
and his distress over Shays’ short-lived rebellion in Massachusetts
convinced him the country needed a strong central government to hold the
states together. James Madison, after an exhaustive study of
governmental systems throughout history, reached the same conclusions by
the time the two men arrived in Philadelphia.
They
hoped for a standing army capable of fending off any new challenges.
When it became apparent the nation couldn’t afford it, they decided to
rely on a militia system. Every home would keep a musket in working
order and be ready to come to the nation’s defense if needed.