History Lesson - The American Constitution

Todays Topic: The 2nd Amendment - The Right to Bear Arms

The second amendment to the American Constitution confers upon its citizens the right to 'keep and bear arms'. In short, it allows you to tool up and get ready for some serious rootin' tootin' shootin'.

Large handguns - keeping granny happy

Americans have grown to love their guns. Around 25% of adults and 40% of all households in the U.S. possess guns. They never miss an opportunity to wave dangerous weapons around in inappropriate circumstances and, as a result, about 10,000 people end up getting killed by guns every year. Nice!

Originally, some states within the union were opposed to ordinary citizens being able to own weapons. For over 140 years, the state of Oregon refused to allow women to own weapons by insisting on a literal interpretation of the wording of the Second Amendment - giving them only 'the right to bear (ursine) arms'. This statute still remains in the Oregon town of Fredericksburgville - where the town's women march through the main boulevard on Veterans' Day, holding aloft the arms of locally shot grizzly bears.

Martha Vandenburg proudly holding her 'bear's arm'

The Second Amendment nearly didn't get passed at all. There was fierce disagreement between John Hancock, a signatory of the Constitution and die-hard quaker pacifist, and the second President, John Adams. Hancock proposed that, whilst the right to bear arms was undeniable, every effort should be made to discourage the carrying of guns in public places. He argued that an extra provision should be included, requiring that those wanting to bear arms should also have to carry a hefty watermelon at all times. He reasoned that the onerous nature of this requirement would act as a deterent, and that citizens would soon tire of carrying both guns and watermelons. As history records, Adams won the argument and now only gun-totting quakers fulfil this condition voluntarily.

Quakers - guns and watermelons

Approximately 10% of american presidents have been shot dead whilst some others have been shot and survived. No one can be certain how each of them felt about this, but one can speculate that their support for the second amendment was probably their last regret as they bled to death. Perhaps there was a time when a citizen's need to own weapons made sense - a country born out of revolution often does so by having a well-armed populace. However, it is less clear why this should be the case today. Except that they do love their guns. Guns... and freedom. You know, freedom - like the right to bear arms.

Next Time - The First Amendment - The right to annoy everyone by talking very loudly or, as they refer to it, 'free speech'.