“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
But let’s cut to the chase, shall we? I lied. The passage quoted above is actually not the Second Amendment; at least it’s not the original version passed by Congress in 1791. It is, rather, a subtly altered version that states later ratified, much to the delight of the gun lobby, which almost always quotes the tweaked edition. Here’s the way the Amendment read as passed by Congress:“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Notice the difference? The NRA is really hoping you won’t. But if you look closely, you’ll spot something that was missing from the other version. Actually, two somethings: little spermatazoid markings after “Militia” and “Arms”. They’re called commas, and they can drastically alter the meaning of a sentence. (Which sounds more appealing: ” a million dollars, and beads” or “a million, dollars and beads “?)My contention is that the whole business is so antiquated and anachronistic that it's meaningless, but I love the Professor's take on it too.
What's your opinion? Since I realize we never tire of discussing this, and it is at the very center of raison d'etre here on the blog, what do you think the Second Amendment means today? Is that meaning different than it was in the beginning? How has it changed?
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