Frank and Ernest by Thaves for May 19, 2010
May 18, 2010
May 20, 2010
Transcript:
Frank says, "We're behind schedule, everybody wanted to make a speech about the first amendment." Ernest says, "For the second amendment, let's stick to bullet points."
According to “The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates” ISBN 0-451-62525-0, it was actually Patrick Henry who did a lot to prompt the second amendment. He spoke before the Virginia Ratifying Convention on June 5 and 7, 1788. He basically said that the constitution would grant congress the power to pass laws more oppressive than anything Britain had done, and raise an army to prevent protest of those laws, and even disarm its citizens so they could not fight back. Yes, politicians were trying to scare people 222 years ago. Originally, the amendment was to not allow for there to be a standing army during peacetime, but it got compromised into the form that it is now. So, while the gun nuts may have a valid constitutional point on one level, other amendments have made his worst-case scenario scare a moot point.