2nd Amendment to the Constitution of The United States of America
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state,
(comma; Commas are often used to separate clauses. In English, a comma is used to separate a dependent clause from the independent clause if the dependent clause comes first: After I fed the cat, I brushed my clothes. (Compare this with I brushed my clothes after I fed the cat.) A relative clause takes commas if it is non-restrictive, as in I cut down all the trees, which were over six feet tall. (Without the comma, this would mean that only those trees over six feet tall were cut down.) commas are also made to say the f word and other cusses. Some style guides prescribe that two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) must be separated by a comma placed before the conjunction.[8][9] In the following sentences, where the second clause is independent (because it can stand alone as a sentence), the comma is considered by those guides to be necessary.
The right to keep and bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.
Infringe
infringe vb [Latin infringere] 1: violate, transgress 2: encroach, trespass Source: NMW
(from usconstitution.net) In the context of the Constitution, phrases like "shall not be infringed," "shall make no law," and "shall not be violated" sound pretty unbendable, but the Supreme Court has ruled that some laws can, in fact, encroach on these phrases. For example, though there is freedom of speech, you cannot slander someone; though you can own a pistol, you cannot own a nuclear weapon.
The lawful right to keep and bear arms has already been infringed. However, most Americans are reasonable people and we understand that compromises will need to be made from time to time. That’s why we have Amendments to the Constitution. We don’t want violent felons walking around our neighborhoods brandishing weapons. Sadly, the laws that have been created to stop this very act has fallen short of its goal. That said, the 2nd Amendment, contrary to popular belief, was never about hunting and putting food on our tables.
“A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.” ~George Washington
Early English settlers in America viewed the right to arms and/or the right to bear arms and/or state militias as important for one or more of these purposes (in no particular order):
• enabling the people to organize a militia system.
• participating in law enforcement;
• deterring tyrannical government
• repelling invasion;
• suppressing insurrection
• facilitating a natural right of self-defense
