Quote:
Originally Posted by vienna
Regulation? Not a bad word; it's even in the Constitution, in that 2nd Amendment thing. Actually, the Founding Fathers seemingly found it necessary to make the word "well-regulated". Odd, of all the rights listed in the Bill Of Rights, this is the only Amendment in which any reference of 'regulation', "well-" or otherwise is mentioned. Maybe they didn't feel comfortable with the idea of an unbridled right in regards to this issue...
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Actually the concept of "well-regulated" was that every able-bodied male would have a long gun, would drill with it regularly within the militia context, and be available to take his place in the front lines if necessary. That said, all rights were considered to belong to the people, and none to the government.
http://www.guncite.com/gc2ndpur.html
The first link in the article, 'Well-Regulated', leads to a good examination of that phrase and its meanings.