The Constitutional Convention took palce in Philadelphia in 1787.George Washington is credited with overseeing the convention. James Maddison is credited with writing the draft. Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and John Adamsn were also involved. Thomas Jefferson was an ambassador in France representing the American government at the time of the French Revolution. He then spent time in England catching up with the philosophers and politicians governing England.
Preamble to the Constitution.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings
of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.
Preamble to the Declaration Of Independence.
(On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress declared America’s independence from Great Britain and converted the thirteen colonies
into the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence’s justification for that break later influenced the language of
the preamble to the Constitution.)
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
As time went by, the rulers realised that certain parts of the constitution needed clarifaction or addition. So amendments were introduced. The first amendment said
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The Second Amendment is one of 10 amendments that form the Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791 by the U.S. Congress. Differing interpretations of the amendment—often referred to as the right to bear arms—have fueled a long-running debate over gun control legislation and the rights of individual citizens to buy, own and carry firearms.
The second amendment says:
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.
The thinking behind the second amendment was the observation that some governments had used soldiers to oppress the people. They believed that English history showed that this risk could be reduced by allowing governments to raise armies (consisting of a full-time paid troops) only when there was a foreign threat. For other purposes such as responding to sudden invasions or other emergencies, threats from the native population and civil unrest. These militias consisted of ordinary citizens who provided their own weapons and received some part-time military training. The Constitutional Convention decided that federal governments should have almost unfettered powers to establish peacetime standing armies and to regulate militia. The onset of war did not always allow time to raise and train an army.
The guns at that time were muskets which were slow to load and fire. They were also inaccurate meaning that you had to be within 50 m or so of the enemy to inflict much damage. After the initial shot, it was often easier to engage in hand-to-hand combat than to attempt another shot.
The current laws in America concerning gun ownership were derived from this initial amendment. The various courts, especially the high courts, have had to rule on what this amendment means in today’s society. It would appear that politicians of either persuasion are reluctant to appoint High Court judges no one to oppose gun ownership.
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