Our first guest column is by Shannon Kelley. Shannon is running for the US House district 4. We would like to thank Shannon Kelley for being our first guest columnist from all of the candidates that may end up representing our area and wish you well this coming election.
2nd Amendment - 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.
"Are we at last brought to such an humiliating and debasing [loss of morals] that we cannot be trusted with arms...?” Two centuries ago Patrick Henry asked this question of us. Even if we cannot be trusted with arms, as some would argue, does the Federal Government have the right to disarm us? William Blackstone, in Commentaries on the Laws states:
"The ... right of the [citizens] that I shall at present mention, in that of having arms for their defense ... [This is] the natural right of resistance and self-preservation when the sanctions of society and laws are found insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression.... [T]o vindicate these rights when actually violated or attacked, the [citizens] are entitled, in the first place, to the regular administration of free course of justice in the courts of law; next, to the right of petitioning the [government] for redress of grievances; and lastly, to the right of having and using arms for self-preservation and defense."
The right of self-preservation or the defense of your life, liberty, or property is considered to be the first Law of Nature (Natures Law or God's Law). This is an inalienable right. The responsibility of Government is to preserve our inalienable rights, not restrict them. Chancellor James Kent is recognized by historians as "one of the two fathers of American jurisprudence". Kent declared:
"The municipal law of our ... country has likewise left with individuals the exercise of the natural right of self-defense.... The right of self-defense ... is founded in the law of nature, and is not, and cannot be, superseded by the law of society."
The founders understood the importance of having individuals armed and trained how to use such munitions in the event that their life or property is threatened either by an individual or by the government. Noah Webster famously warned:
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed - as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword because the whole body of the people are armed."
James Madison originally proposed "the right to keep and bear arms" be added as a textual addition to the Constitution in Article I, Section 9, which is the section of the Constitution that limits Congress's power over individual citizens. Early laws in the Colonies also reveal the necessity of an armed citizenry. In 1623, Virginia law required citizens be well armed before travel. In 1658, Virginia law required every household to have a functioning firearm in the house. In the new Plymouth Colony, 1623, each person was required to have a firearm, powder, and bullets at all times. In the Newport Colony, 1639, no person was to attend a public meeting without a firearm, by law.
Opponents of the 2nd amendment argue that the right to bear arms was meant to apply to the militia, or military, not the individual. The 2nd amendment is part of the "Bill of Rights", the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. Every single amendment in the "Bill of Rights" deals with an individual's right (1st - free speech, assembly, petition; 3rd - quartering of soldiers without consent; 4th - unreasonable searches; 5th - due process; etc.). Then what did the founder's mean when they used the word militia? Richard Henry Lee says:
"A militia ... are in fact the people themselves ... [and] are for the most part employed at home in their private concerns."
Samuel Adams said:
"The militia is composed of free citizens."
George Mason asked and answered:
"Who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people.""
When we try to interpret the Constitution, the only meaningful method is to determine how the authors of the law, and the representatives who voted on the law, understood the law. Thomas Jefferson reinforces this method by stating:
"On every question of construction, carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was past."
I conclude with some quotes from our Founding Fathers' on the subject of individuals rights to keep and bear arms:
"Forty years ago, when the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great-Britain, the British parliament was advised ... to disarm the people. That it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them. But that they should not do it openly; but to weaken them and let them sink gradually." George Mason
"And what countries can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms." Thomas Jefferson
"The right ... of bearing arms ... is declared to be inherent in the people." Fisher Ames
"[T]he said Constitution [should] be never construed ... to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms." Samuel Adams
"A free people ought ... to be armed." George Washington
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined." Patrick Henry
Shannon Kelley
Candidate - United States House of Representatives
Tennessee, 4th District
ShannonKelleyforCongress.com
Twitter: @kelley4congress
"Are we at last brought to such an humiliating and debasing [loss of morals] that we cannot be trusted with arms...?” Two centuries ago Patrick Henry asked this question of us. Even if we cannot be trusted with arms, as some would argue, does the Federal Government have the right to disarm us? William Blackstone, in Commentaries on the Laws states:
"The ... right of the [citizens] that I shall at present mention, in that of having arms for their defense ... [This is] the natural right of resistance and self-preservation when the sanctions of society and laws are found insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression.... [T]o vindicate these rights when actually violated or attacked, the [citizens] are entitled, in the first place, to the regular administration of free course of justice in the courts of law; next, to the right of petitioning the [government] for redress of grievances; and lastly, to the right of having and using arms for self-preservation and defense."
The right of self-preservation or the defense of your life, liberty, or property is considered to be the first Law of Nature (Natures Law or God's Law). This is an inalienable right. The responsibility of Government is to preserve our inalienable rights, not restrict them. Chancellor James Kent is recognized by historians as "one of the two fathers of American jurisprudence". Kent declared:
"The municipal law of our ... country has likewise left with individuals the exercise of the natural right of self-defense.... The right of self-defense ... is founded in the law of nature, and is not, and cannot be, superseded by the law of society."
The founders understood the importance of having individuals armed and trained how to use such munitions in the event that their life or property is threatened either by an individual or by the government. Noah Webster famously warned:
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed - as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword because the whole body of the people are armed."
James Madison originally proposed "the right to keep and bear arms" be added as a textual addition to the Constitution in Article I, Section 9, which is the section of the Constitution that limits Congress's power over individual citizens. Early laws in the Colonies also reveal the necessity of an armed citizenry. In 1623, Virginia law required citizens be well armed before travel. In 1658, Virginia law required every household to have a functioning firearm in the house. In the new Plymouth Colony, 1623, each person was required to have a firearm, powder, and bullets at all times. In the Newport Colony, 1639, no person was to attend a public meeting without a firearm, by law.
Opponents of the 2nd amendment argue that the right to bear arms was meant to apply to the militia, or military, not the individual. The 2nd amendment is part of the "Bill of Rights", the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. Every single amendment in the "Bill of Rights" deals with an individual's right (1st - free speech, assembly, petition; 3rd - quartering of soldiers without consent; 4th - unreasonable searches; 5th - due process; etc.). Then what did the founder's mean when they used the word militia? Richard Henry Lee says:
"A militia ... are in fact the people themselves ... [and] are for the most part employed at home in their private concerns."
Samuel Adams said:
"The militia is composed of free citizens."
George Mason asked and answered:
"Who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people.""
When we try to interpret the Constitution, the only meaningful method is to determine how the authors of the law, and the representatives who voted on the law, understood the law. Thomas Jefferson reinforces this method by stating:
"On every question of construction, carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was past."
I conclude with some quotes from our Founding Fathers' on the subject of individuals rights to keep and bear arms:
"Forty years ago, when the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great-Britain, the British parliament was advised ... to disarm the people. That it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them. But that they should not do it openly; but to weaken them and let them sink gradually." George Mason
"And what countries can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms." Thomas Jefferson
"The right ... of bearing arms ... is declared to be inherent in the people." Fisher Ames
"[T]he said Constitution [should] be never construed ... to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms." Samuel Adams
"A free people ought ... to be armed." George Washington
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined." Patrick Henry
Shannon Kelley
Candidate - United States House of Representatives
Tennessee, 4th District
ShannonKelleyforCongress.com
Twitter: @kelley4congress
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