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: The Buck Stops Here

Heller case

By Stuart Buck, Esq.

This passage from Justice Stevens' dissent in the Second Amendment case struck my eye: The Amendment?s use of the term ?keep? in no way contradicts the military meaning conveyed by the phrase ?bear arms? and the Amendment?s preamble. To the contrary, a number of state militia laws in effect at the time of the Second Amendment?s drafting used the term ?keep? to describe the requirement that militia members store their arms at their homes, ready to be used for service when necessary. The Virginia military law, for example, ordered that ?every one of the said officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates, shall constantly keep the aforesaid arms, accoutrements, and ammunition, ready to be produced whenever called for by his commanding officer...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Buck Stops Here on June 29, 2008 (boomark / email).