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What does it take to qualify one to ascertain the will of the lawmakers?
An ability to read & comprehend English.
In honesty its my belief that people such as yourself, who feel a need to over complicate things are to blame for the litigious nature of our society at this point in time. Rendering every nuance into a complex puzzle does not do much to clarify an issue or come to a conclusion. I tend to try & simplify things. Seeing as they just got thru fighting off an oppresive Govt its obvious that their intent was to limit the Govts power & assure the power of the citizenry was not watered down & rendered impotent.
You said,
Quote:
The rules were what Blackstone said they were, in his famous Commentaries.
Then you said,
Quote:
I would follow the common law rules of construction that prevailed at the time the Constitution was made.
Both statements give the impression that you know & understand those rules that the SC cant figure out. Given your obviously heightened comprehension skills what do you feel the intent of the law makers was?
Justice Scalia’s Methodology Of Constitutional Interpretation Is Just An Excuse To Cherry Pick Evidence That Squares With His Personal Views.
In the excerpt below, from the U. S. Supreme Court's opinion in the case of Heller v. D. C, authored my favorite activist on the Court, Justice Scalia attempts to ascertain the meaning of the term "keep arms." However, the term "keep arms" doesn't actually appear in the Second Amendment and he's already ascertained the meaning of the word "arms."
The phrase “keep arms” was not prevalent in the written
documents of the founding period that we have found,
but there are a few examples, all of which favor viewing
the right to “keep Arms” as an individual right unconnected
with militia service. William Blackstone, for example,
wrote that Catholics convicted of not attending
service in the Church of England suffered certain penalties,
one of which was that they were not permitted to
“keep arms in their houses.” 4 Commentaries on the Laws
of England 55 (1769) (hereinafter Blackstone); see also 1
W. & M., c. 15, §4, in 3 Eng. Stat. at Large 422 (1689)
(“[N]o Papist . . . shall or may have or keep in his House
. . . any Arms . . . ”); 1 Hawkins, Treatise on the Pleas of
the Crown 26 (1771) (similar). Petitioners point to militia
laws of the founding period that required militia members
to “keep” arms in connection with militia service, and they
conclude from this that the phrase “keep Arms” has a
militia-related connotation. See Brief for Petitioners 16–
17 (citing laws of Delaware, New Jersey, and Virginia).
This is rather like saying that, since there are many statutes
that authorize aggrieved employees to “file complaints”
with federal agencies, the phrase “file complaints”
has an employment-related connotation. “Keep arms” was
simply a common way of referring to possessing arms, for
militiamen and everyone else.7
When Scalia was ascertaining the meaning of the word "arms", he went to "Samuel Johnson’s dictionary." However, this time he goes to "Commentaries on the Laws of England." He's obviously cherry picking.
Granted, but he has no choice faced with justifying a simple concept to people who refuse to admit the reality of what the amendment means.
Arms, in this sense, always means weaponry & Bearing arms always means carrying that weaponry around with you. If we can agree on that then the meaning of the second amendment is obvious as is the intent of the lawmakers.
The only thing up in the air to a realistic & logical person is wether such restrictions apply to states & municipalities. IMO thats answered by the Fed getting involved in other cases of civil right denial. Coupled with the fact that virtually every state has a constitution that protects the RKBA it is very obvious that not just federal law makers, but state legislators as well wanted civilian RKBA protected.
The only ones confused by it are those who dont like it, they themselves are not confused either in the intent, but merely at the idea. They do however introduce & foster confusion at every opportunity in an attempt, a vain one I hope, to get things turned around in their favor.
But that aside, its very obvious, even to an unread person such as myself that the vast majority of lawmakers & ordinary people at the time the constitution was put together saw the RKBA as very important & not to be arbitrarily denied the peple.
Here let me help, Its either the upper extremities,
Quote:
Main Entry:1arm Pronunciation: \ˈärm\ Function:noun Etymology:Middle English, from Old English earm; akin to Latin armus shoulder, Sanskrit īrma armDate:before 12th century 1: a human upper limb; especially: the part between the shoulder and the wrist
Or its weaponry,
Quote:
Main Entry: 2arm Function:verb Etymology:Middle English armen, from Anglo-French armer, from Latin armare, from arma weapons, tools; akin to Latin ars skill, Greek harmos joint, arariskein to fitDate:12th century transitive verb 1 : to furnish or equip with weapons
Quote:
Main Entry: 3arm Function:noun Usage:often attributive Etymology:Middle English armes (plural) weapons, from Anglo-French, from Latin armaDate:
13th century 1 a: a means (as a weapon) of offense or defense; especially:firearm
In case you dont understand the term "Bear" as it pertains to guns,
Quote:
bear arms 1: to carry or possess arms2: to serve as a soldier
We've all been ****ed, and you're still arguing about foreplay. Wake up and smell the bull****!
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He's Obviously Cherry Picking
