Yawper - research the Continental Army. It was basically a way of organizing disparate militia forces into some semblance of a force. It was far from an organized army like we have today.
Also, since I admit to not being an expert in U.S. military history, I did a bit of reading. While the army as an organization was founded in 1784, there was no standing army as that was one of our founders' greatest fears - that a standing army could usurp a democratic government's authority. A temporary army to defend the frontier was establish in 1791 (after the Constitution was written) but was quickly disbanded in 1796. The point still holds - at the time of the Constitution, men needed to have guns so they could quickly run to defend the new country in the event of an attack. That's not an issue today.
While from a historical (note: not a Constitutional) perspective, the Supreme Court decides the constitutionality of laws, that doesn't mean we all need to agree with everything they say. Assemble a room full of constitutional scholars and ask them about their opinions of Heller, Roe v. Wade, the healthcare ruling, Citizens United, etc. and every single one of them will disagree with the Court on many rulings. Judicial review is another interesting concept as it isn't enshrined anywhere in the beloved Constitution but was instead largely invented by Chief Justice Marshal during Marbury v. Madison. A strict constructionist should actually find the very idea of judicial review horrifying. Look all over the Constitution, it isn't there. But, that's another issue entirely.
Even if we do look at the S.C. as the be all end all for Constitutional debates, which is ridiculous in it of itself, the Court in Heller did acknowledge that some regulations/restrictions are constitutional. I'm not advocating for a complete ban of guns.
Scratch and claw for every day you're worth!
Make them drag you screaming from life, keep dreaming
You'll live forever here on earth.
Updated On: 7/20/12 at 01:36 PM
