THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SECOND AMENDMENT

Constitution of the United States (1789)

Amendment II.  

A well regulated Militia, being necessary for the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. 

For most nations maintaining a standing army was too great of an expense.  So for most of history nation-states depended upon citizen warriors for their defense.  But wielding weapons effectively required some level of expertise.  To insure that conscripts would be prepared to defend their homeland, governments and leaders often required citizens to maintain certain weapons and be proficient in their use. 

In 1511 King Henry VIII of England, decreed in a law entitled: “An Act Concerning the Shooting of Longbows” The law imposed a requirement on all male subjects under the age of sixty years to keep and maintain a long bow and arrows and practice the shooting of this weapon. They were also required to provide weapons and instructions for their sons and male attendants, staff, and include them in shooting practice.  The act states that all subjects had to “use and exercise shooting in longbows and also have a longbow and arrows ready continually in his house  to use himself...”

Between about 1250 to 1450, the  English long bow was the dominant weapon —-one might say it was the AK 47 of the Middle Ages.  The English longbow was constructed from the wood of native yew tree , and  was often more than six feet long and may have  a “draw weight” of more than 140 pounds.  This factor —the physical strength needed to pull or “draw” the bow and maintains aim—-required long training to master and to become proficient for war fighting. In the hands of an experienced bowman the bow was an effective and powerful weapon of war.  The English bowmen were famous for their deadly use of the long bow against the French during the Hundred Years War and famously at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. 

King Henry’s edict was a sensible one. During the 1500s Europe was a dangerous place with fluid borders, conflicting dynastic claims, and many disputes.  During his reign Henry sent troops into battle with France, Spain, the Hapsburgs (Austria), as well as with the Scotch.    His realm could not afford to maintain a standing army.  It was also politically dangerous to do so, since such a standing force could be commandeered  by opponents and used to unseat a king.  For these reasons the English kings were heavily dependent upon the able bodied male citizenry to form the backbone of their armies in time of need. This need was the impetus of his 1511 edict on longbows.  Our Second Amendment served much the same purpose.  

In the USA the Founders eschewed the formation of a standing army.  It was at once too great a financial burden on the young nation and also was rightly seen as a dire threat to democracy and liberty.  The Founders often warned against standing armies as being counter to democracy.  James Madison famously stated that “ A standing military force...will not be long a safe companion(s) to liberty.”  

For this reason, the same motivation which drove King Henry to force his citizenry to own and practice with the longbow encouraged  the Founders of the Constitution to include the Second Amendment in the document in 1789.  The Founders understood the shortcomings and dangers of a standing army yet they clearly perceived the need for well trained conscripts and volunteers in the dangerous world of their times.  In a few short years the young nation would be at war again with the British in the War of 1812.  To serve effectively these citizen soldiers would have to know how to use the weaponry of the day.  The muzzle loader of those times required a good deal of practice to load, aim and fire effectively and in a timely fashion  There were no belts of brass cartridges, or bump stocks.  No one could just pick up and begin firing  the muzzle loading, flintlock smoothbore weapon of the day.  After a long training a soldier might be able to load and fire a muzzle loader at a rate of two or three shots a minute. It would take additional training for the conscript to actually learn to aim the barrel at specific targets!  Long training was essential to achieve this level of expertise.  Thus the need  for the Founders to encourage  the  “People to keep and bear arms.” 

The reason for the Second Amendment seems to have evaporated with the advent of our massive million person standing army in recent times and the technological development in weapons which require almost no prior experience for any individual to pick up a modern weapon and even without a “bump stock” fire off 60 bullets every minute. 

That is the truth about the Second Amendment.