(July 6, 2022 at 3:16 am)Rev. Rye Wrote:(July 5, 2022 at 11:56 pm)Brian37 Wrote: But you are absolutely correct GN, that there is a gross distortion by the right as to what the founders said and meant, and the right wants to paint them as magic super heros whose shit never stank. If Jefferson and Paine were to run for President today, there is absolutely no way they could run on the Republican ticket and get passed the primaries with the way they railed against superstition and pulpit politics.
The same people who blindly worship the founders would have to define Washington as evil because he once threatened to go after whiskey maker tax dodgers and he would have used the Militia to enforce them to pay taxes. And yes, back then the "well regulated" militia was used by slave owners to capture and return escaped slaves. But, what they call "militia" we now call the national guard. And they can be used for lots of good reasons, like dispersing life saving necessities during natural disaster, or even distributing vaccines during a pandemic.
It's also worth noting that the militia was so important at the time because as of 1787, people weren't convinced that a full-on federal army would even be practical, let alone desirable. Alexander Hamilton, in Federalist Paper 29, said "The project of disciplining all the militia of the United States is as futile as it would be injurious, if it were capable of being carried into execution."
The Second Amendment was written for a time when those well-regulated militias were the biggest line of defense against invaders, and the US Army, as we know it, didn't even really exist.
But these idiot strict originalists say they need their weapons to potentially have to fight a tyrannical government. If that is the case they should be fighting the GOP and Trumpism, because both are doing their best to destroy our institutions and become the only power in power forever.
But if they stupidly think they can even use AR-15s against military tanks or fighter jets, they can try, but they will not get far.