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The right to keep and bear arms longs predates the invention of guns. Originally, it encompassed spears, bows, swords, and so on. It was long held that a man had a right to defend himself from attack and, as such, had the right to have whatever tools he could afford to use in that effort.
Hence, the right to keep and bear arms.
However, not everyone agrees. Some people think the right to keep and bear arms is really about states despite the Second Amendment’s use of the term “people’s right.” It seems people only mean people and not states when it’s convenient. Some people think the right is entirely fictional.
AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley
South Carolina and Missouri are two states taking an interesting approach to sanctuary efforts. Rather than simply make a statement, they’re considering laws that would allow residents to pretty much have whatever is currently legal to them under laws that would create state-sponsored militias.
While many don’t like the term “militia,” that’s basically what they are and I’m fine with it. I think it’s an interesting approach.
For some, like the folks over at
The latest attempts by state legislators to circumvent potential federal gun legislation follow a decades-long history, according to Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism and a long-time analyst of militias in the United States.