Archer -> RE: Remember when Obama said he wouldn't come after people's guns? (3/2/2009 10:03:28 AM)
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ORIGINAL: DomKen quote:
ORIGINAL: Archer DomKen so you are saying that the English common law that although battled back and forth over who got the right, had for centuries allowed and even at some points mandated that people keep and bear arms suitable to their condition, that was the precedent for the american colonies gun mandates for all colonists. (Laws mandating that every head of household own a musket and keep powder and lead in their home) wasn't the predecessor to that recent experience with militia? Isolating the two is silly they are very much connected. The "recent" militia experience was a result of the mandate that every colonist bring musket lead and powder, or be forced to buy and keep them, which draws it's legislative line back to English common law requireing that subjects keep and bear arms, along with the back and forth denials of that right based on religion. I am telling you that you have your facts wrong and haven't read what the founders wrote. There was no requirement in Britain for commoners to own a firearm. There was a legal right that allowed people to own weapons appropriate to their class, IOW none at all unless you were a land owner. Citizens were not only expected to have suitable weapons at the ready for these duties, but, since passage of the Statute of Winchester in 1285, were assessed according to their wealth for a contribution of arms for the militia.[41] When not in use for musters or emergencies, nearly all of this equipment remained in private hands. A series of later statutes spelled out in detail the arms each household was required to own and the frequency of practice sessions.[42] During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, for example, every family was commanded to provide a bow and two shafts for each son between the ages of seven and seventeen and to train them in their use or be subject to a fine.[43] To promote proficiency in arms, Henry VIII and his successors ordered every village to maintain targets on its green at which local men were to practice shooting "in holy days and other times convenient."[44] Indeed, the statute specifically states that it is permissible not only for gentlemen, but for yeomen, servingmen, the inhabitants of cities, boroughs, market towns, and those living outside of towns "to have and keep in every of their houses any such hand-gun or hand-guns, of the length of one whole yard."[46] The use of shot was forbidden, as was the brandishing of a firearm so as to terrify others, and the use of guns in hunting by unqualified persons.[47] The kingdom's Catholics formed an important exception to the tolerant attitude toward individual ownership of weapons. After the English Reformation they were regarded as potential subversives, and as such were liable to have their arms impounded. They were still assessed for a contribution of weapons for the militia, but were not permitted to keep these in their homes or to serve in the trained bands.[49] Seeems my facts are quite in order contrary to your beliefs. The first law mandating arms was not firearms but rather longbows under Henry VIII Continueing as history marched on Guns and later muskets were required. Including several laws in the colonies that required them VA colony, Maryland Colony and most other colonies had laws requireing their ownership. Do I need to supply you with confirmation of those laws as well? Connecticut’s 1650 laws required everyone above the age of 16, with a few exceptions, to own “a good musket or other gun, fit for service….” 1 Code of 1650, Being a Compilation of the Earliest Laws and Orders of the General Court of Connecticut (Hartford, Conn.: Silas Andrus, 1822), 72-73. During the French and Indian Wars, Roman Catholics (referred to disparagingly as "Papists") were suspected of having sympathies with the French. In 1756, the colonial government in Maryland ordered the surrender of all arms or ammunition in their possession. 52 Maryland Archives, 454. Shortly after the Dutch colony of New Netherlands was taken over by England, and renamed New York, the Duke of York gave orders for the arming of its people. “Besides the general stock of each town, every male within this government from sixteen to sixty years of age” with a few exceptions, was required to be armed. Heads of households were required to arm themselves at their own expense; “if sons or Servants, at their Parents and Masters Charge and Cost….” If you were not armed, the penalty was five shillings—roughly equivalent to a stiff traffic ticket today.1 Maryland: “An Act for Military Discipline” enacted in February or March of 1638 required “that every house keeper or housekeepers within this Province shall have ready continually upon all occasions within his her or their house… for every person within his her or their house able to bear arms, one serviceable [working] gun” along with a pound of gunpowder, four pounds of pistol or musket shot, “match for matchlocks and of flints for firelocks….” There are more if needed, and since at the times the colonies were English soil, these laws were in keeping with English Common Law. Using the Bill of Rights of 1689, a fancy name for the terms of surrender of Parliament to a foreign invader, as justification for anything is beyond pointless. While I couch the English Bill of rights in Neutral terms as to who was legitimate and who was not as it bears no difference on the idea that gun and other weapon rights were given and taken from English subjects based on religion, you show so much bias as to be not worthy of calling scholarship. The Founders had a very recent experience from the French and indian War where the british standing army had not done much of a job protecting the people anbd citizen militias had filled in the gap. Those same militias had formed the core of the rebellion against George III and the Founders believed that the militia could substitute for a standing army, which they had reason to distrust. However you failed to respond to my salient point, do you truly think personal ownership of firearms is a guarantor of your freedom? Do you believe that civilians with weapons can defend themselves against the US Army? I chose to keep to a single point that was being debated rather than allow myself to be sidetracked onto a subject I had already discussed several pages ago. To revisit my opinion on the effectivenss of an armed popular rebellion in these times please see my post #270 on post page 14
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