Sunday, January 16, 2011

The Constitution Now and Then (#3)

As its first order of business in the 112th Congress, the new Republican leadership decided to read the US Constitution out loud. The implication of this reading is that the previous Congress (which was controlled by Democrats) had lost touch with the true meaning of the US Constitution.

This issue brings up a wider discussion of the term "original intent." Much debate has taken place over what our Founding fathers intended for the Constitution and whether their original intent is being followed by our current politicians. But did all our Founding Fathers agree on the original intent of the Constitution and if so can we accurately decipher what that intent was over 225 years later? Additionally, is their original intent still relevant to us in 2011?

With that said, what was the original intent of the founding fathers regarding the 2nd amendment and our right to bear arms? Here is what the 2nd amendment reads:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Does this amendment refer to our personal rights to bear arms or is this a right from a bygone era where states were responsible for raising an army and protecting its people with militias.

Incidentally, the Supreme Court has not made many rulings on the 2nd amendment over the course of our history but most significantly, it did rule in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) that individuals have a personal right to bear arms in federal enclaves (Washington D.C.) outside the jurisdiction of a militia. The Court will soon rule on whether individuals have that right in the 50 states.

But what would our Founding Fathers say about the status of guns in society in 2011? Would they hold true to their 18th century beliefs or would they see a need to adjust to the needs of our current society? Do we need to protect ourselves from a tyrannical government in the same way our ancestors did in the 1700s?

Current Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer argues that our Founding Fathers would support gun control.

Original intent: Federalist #29 on the militia.

Here is your task:
  • Can you accurately determine what the original intent of the Founders was on the issue of gun rights? Be sure to cite your information.
  • Do you believe the Founding Fathers would approach the issue of gun rights the same way today? Explain and defend yourself.
As usual stay civil and within the bounds of good taste, especially in light of the recent tragedy in Arizona.

124 comments:

  1. I think the original intent of the founders on the issue of gun rights was so that the citizen may protect itself and country when threatened. I think they also wanted to create peace, stated in the Federalist #29. With time comes changes and I think the politicians are doing everything they can to preserve the constitution while meeting the needs of the people. So my answer for question two would be...yes I think the Fouding Fathers would approach the issue of gun right the same way it is being approached today.

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  2. Josh Agans, Bauer P.5January 16, 2011 at 8:58 PM

    i believe the second amendment refers to our right to bear arms. i think the original intent the Founders had was for the citizens to be able to protect themselves like jimmy said. i also think they wanted everyone to feel safe. i think the Founders would find a need to change the laws of guns now. things are getting dangerous now a days like what just happened in arizona. they wanted people to possess guns for self defense and safety, not violence.

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  3. you can not accurately determine every way in which the founding fathers meant the constitution to be taken, however we can infer it in many ways. I think that the right to bear arms referred to people having arms for personal safety and protection, and they would approve of his still today. Sloan p.3

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  4. I believe that the second amendment does give us the right to bear arms, but it also has restrictions. If the founding fathers were here today i think that they would approach it differently. In my opinion we have not had a tyranical government, but we have many incidents of people abusing their right to bear arms.For example the incident in arizona and the shooting at the university. I aLSO agree with josh that they would have to find a way to keep us safe and protected.

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  5. in the time of the founding fathers, the British and native Americans were THREATS, currently we face no incoming naval threats, or any inland threats, therefore citizens only need guns for protection of themselves and their homes from criminals. that said, i think the fathers would say that policy towards guns and ammunition have gone lax in this country, and need to be regulated.

    p.s. i want the right to bear arms, those things got claws.

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  6. katey santillan Bauer p1January 17, 2011 at 11:26 AM

    I think that the founders ment we could personally bear arms for protection. I do not think we can be 100% positive of what their intent was, but i think it means what it says in simple terms, people can posses guns. In alaska, people need to carry guns on them at all times, especially in the wilderness because of the high population of bears and other dangerous animals. The people that live there need to protect themselves. i think it's sad how this law can be abused where a tradgedy in Arizona happened, but i still think citizens can posses gun control, well the ones that are in their right mind that is.

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  7. I believe that times have changed in America from the 18th century to today, but as Americans we should still have the right to bear arms and defend ourselves if the situation calls for it. Just because some people abuse that right, and use that amendment in the wrong way, it doesn't mean all Americans should have to suffer for it. Our Founding Fathers did what they believed was every American deserves to bear arms to defend themselves, that was the original intent, but people abuse their rights, and that's why tragedies like Arizona happen.

    Stephanie Romero
    Bauer
    Period 3

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  8. I think that the founding fathers gave the u.s the right to bear arms to protect ourselves, property and etc. If guns are legal and registered i don't see the harm in it if it's for safety. Yes times have changed which but in a bad way. People have more property and belongings to protect now.

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  9. I would say the founding Ftahers meant both a militia and any citizen has or should have the right to bear arms. This means a citizen can own a gun and carry it with them. Obviously insane people wouldnt be allowed, niether criminals or anybody like that. Upstanding citizens, however, should be allowed this constitutional right.

    This country was built on guns. How could we cut our citizens off from somthing that enabled the foundation of our country to flourish?

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  10. I agree with Jimmy about the second amendment being added in order to protect the country/ people's homes when they are threatened. Many people have taken it too far by using guns to murder other people.

    I believe the Founding Fathers would not have the same idea about guns as today because in today's world there is a lot more violence and a lot more regulations needed. If there was less guns and more regulations then many less people will be threatened.

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  11. It is difficult to set one single interpretation on the Constitution since on most matters the Founding Fathers wrote ambiguously. I think that the original intent of the second amendment was the right of someone to protect themselves with a gun when necessary. I don't think that people should be allowed to walk around openly with a gun in possession, but I believe that citizens have the right to keep weapons in a household in case they are faced with any dangerous situation & a gun is necessary protection. What worries me about the right to bear arms is how some states like Arizona have so few regulations on who can own a gun. I don't tend to trust people easily, & therefore I'm hesitant about what some people could do with weapons.

    Devin Smith, Mr. Bauer, P.1.

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  12. Danielle Smith, Sloan P1January 17, 2011 at 6:18 PM

    I don't think anyone can really say what the Founding Fathers meant in the Constitution. It's a completely different world now; they probably couldn't fathom a world like this when they were writing the Constitution, so I really don't think it's something to interpret anymore. If I had to try, I'd say gun rights were meant for militia and for people to protecct their property. Though they are dangerous, the intention of owning a gun is primarily for safety reasons, as stated in the Federalist #29 article. The Founding Fathers would probably approach gun rights in the same way as they did back then, because people need to protect themselves now, just like they did back then. Although there aren't small state militias or anything, there is a federal one. Things have just become more condensed and unified; but they'd probably still see their thoughts about it the same way.

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  13. The second amendment, personally, does refer to our personal rights to bear arms.

    In my opinion the original intent of the Founders on the issue of gun rights was so that the citizen may protect itself and country when threatened. I don't think the Founding Fathers would approach the issue of gun rights the same way today because many people have abused the use of guns. I believe that they would hold true to their 18th century beliefs, but would also see a need to adjust to the needs of the current society.

    Chrissy Vue
    Sloan
    Period 3

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  14. I agree with most of the previous posts. It is too different of a world this day and age to determine which side the founding fathers would support. In the time that the 2nd amendment was written, a tyranical rule by an overseas power was a large threat, so this was very important. Currently, the threat of invasion is not quite as ominous, but we can also interpret the 2nd amendment in a different way:
    protecting the people from a tyranny may not necessarily mean specifically a tyrant such as a king, but perhaps an outside power that attempts and means to place its own rights and status above your own, regardless of your position. In this way, the 2nd amendment can be interpreted as the right to defend oneself from criminals, which I believe encourages the right to bear arms for defense.

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  15. Margarita Flores per.5 Mr.BauerJanuary 17, 2011 at 9:16 PM

    This amendment refer to our personal rights to bear arms or is this a right from a by gone era where states were responsible for raising an army and protecting its people with militias.Our Founding Fathers say about the status of guns in society in 2011 that it is not wrong now and dangerous. They hold true to their 18th century beliefs so they would see a need to adjust to the needs of our current society. We need to protect ourselves from a tyrannical government in the same way our ancestors did in the 1700s.

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  16. Cierra Gonsalves, Mr. Bauer, Period 2January 17, 2011 at 10:05 PM

    I believe that the original intent of the Founders was to issue a gun law that would benefit the safety of the States meaning that when any individual is in a dangerous situation, he/she has the right to have a weapon, maybe not to use right away, but just in case the situation was life threatening. The founding fathers probably intendend people to be more logical and sane when it came to owning a gun and I think if the Constitution could be revised today, gun laws would be taken into careful consideration and restrictions on ammo as well as purchases would be monitored.

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  17. Raul Soto, sloan per.4January 17, 2011 at 10:14 PM

    I think the original intent of the founders on the issue of gun rights was so that the citizen may protect itself and country when threatened.i also think they wanted everyone to feel safe.Our Founding Fathers did what they believed was every American deserves to bear arms to defend themselves. and thats why i believe in the 2nd amendments.

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  18. In my opinion, the right to bear arms is very important because it a gives good, law-abiding citizens a feeling of protection and defense. I still believe that militias and gun owners are necessary checks on our government. Military coups and dictatorships are present in are world today, as are revolutions by armed citizens, so the idea of citizens bearing arms is not outdated or irrelevant.
    Caleb Boyd
    Mr. Sloan
    Per. 2

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  19. I think the founding fathers intent was for citizens to feel protected and be abel to carry weapons. Things where differnt back in the day and i belive we need to adjust the constitution to what society requires today. By doing this the citizens will feel more protected in our society and we will also be abel to have better protection for the people in this country.

    Clarisa Carrillo
    Per.4
    Sloan

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  20. Jacob Farrar
    bauer 4th

    The original approach of our founding fathers on the second admedment was to have the people ready for war all the time. they wanted everyone to be familliar with guns and that way if war was to break out we would dominate.
    i dont think that the founding fathers would approach the same issue the same today. many things have changed and with more and more threats the law would be restricted alot more. i would think it would read "any military personal has the right to bear arms.any other personal could hav the privalge to bear arms."
    yeap.

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  21. I belive the ammendment should be left alone. The wrong people can awalies get ahold of guns.

    Forrest MacDonald

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  22. I think our founding fathers wanted regular citizens and a militia to both be armed. Being able to have guns makes people safer by allowing them to protect themselves when they need to. Sloan per 1

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  23. I think the founding fathers original intent of the 2nd amendment was so the people can defend themselves in times when they had to. If the founding fathers were alive today i think they would change the amendment a bit, maybe add some restrictions. Because some people are not using the weapons the way they were meant for.

    Melissa Quezada
    Mr. Bauer
    P.2

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  24. Our forefather's actions speak out for them self. They revolted and overthrew British rule. I would suspect almost all of them would support the 2nd amendment. They supported the revolution, and some signed their name to Treason by agreeing with this statement "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government"

    (Declaration of independence)

    Caleb Newman

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  25. Hannah Engebretsen/Bauer P2January 18, 2011 at 4:43 PM

    I agree with Jimmy. The founding fathers wanted us to have right to bear arms so that we can protect our property, and families. I think they knew it wold be modified with things that came to pass later because life today is much diffrent from then. And now we have laws with ammo and guns, that you have to have some identification and notification when purchasing a gun.

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  26. Maria Schmidt, Bauer, Per 5January 18, 2011 at 5:00 PM

    I agree with everyone else when they say that it is difficult to know for sure what the Founding Fathers' intent was for the second amendment. I believe that the right to bear arms meant that people have the right to protect themselves when needed. Nowadays, people abuse that right by having guns and using them for cruel and violent acts. If the Founding Fathers were alive today, I think they would agree that people should be able to own weapons for protection, but not for cruel acts of violence.

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  27. I think the Founders gave us the right to bare arms, because during their time they faced native threats like the Native Americans and the remaining British. The world has change, and our nation has armed forces to defend us if we are ever threatened. The founders would probably amend it if they were alive today.
    Fran
    Bauer

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  28. Who knows what the founding fathers were thinking.Its not like we can ask they what they were thinking simply because that was 225 years ago. These "rules" are already established and we built this nation on them , no reason for changing them. However, if you look at today's soceity you will see that there are rules built off of these rules, i guess thats todays way of "change".
    Jordan Ezie
    Per2 Sloan

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  29. Danielle Bulmer-- Bauer-- 4January 18, 2011 at 5:11 PM

    I think the origional intent of the founding fathers was to allow the citizens to protect themselves, their country and their live stocks. Back then the founding fathers, in my opinion, were fairly lenient in their meaning to the second amendment. Nowadays, I would think that they would have a far greater different thinking on the second amendment as in 2011 is more advanced in all aspects thinkable (i.e. criminals, technology, military)In my opinion I think the founding fathers would actually strengthen and change the second amendment from witnessing our time.

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  30. The Second Amendment is absolutely necessary, especially in the present day, for the purposes of protection. Government is expanding and the economy is dwindling. The citizens of this country are living in uncertain times, and having access to a weapon allows for a sense of security.
    (Sloan P.3/Bauer P.4)

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  31. the founding fathers wanted the people to have protection therfor granting them the right to bear arms. in their time period the melitia they established was their only force of defence..thats why they were allowed the right to bare arms ... to protect themselfs.. today we have various forces of defence the army, police...ex... in many cases the people who own guns use them in crazy ways. people have been using them in ways which the founding fothers did not intend them to be used for... therfor i can say that the original intent the founding fathers had towrdes the second amend. has been broken.
    Alondra Munoz
    sloan p.5

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  32. i think they meant we could protect ourselves if assaulted or something, but gun laws would be changed, because of stuff that happens like tuscon.
    Samantha White
    Sloan
    Per. 5

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  33. Maria Perez
    Sloan
    Period 4
    I believe that the founders original intent on the guns right would be approached differently today than when it was first stated, because now people are different, they even dare to violate the guns right. Times now are different because people need to defend themselves and defend their country when needed.

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  34. Emily Geiszler, BauerJanuary 18, 2011 at 5:56 PM

    I think the Founders original intent was to make citizens feel as safe as they could under a new government. All kinds of things were very foreign to them at the beginning of this process and they all needed to feel protected. I do not believe that the Founding Fathers would approach gun rights the same way today as they did 200 years ago. Things have changed significantly since then. We now have nuclear weapons and guns that can let off rounds faster than you can snap your fingers. There should be limits to how people can protect themselves. Maybe they should allow people to carry around only certain caliber weapons and they must be visible. It is hard to say what the founders would do in this day and age.

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  35. Michael Freeman Per 5 SloanJanuary 18, 2011 at 5:59 PM

    The entire Constitution was made to protect the people of the united states from government that could take over and become a socialistic government. The second amendment was created so that men and women will be equipped with the tools they need to take down the government. But this was a long time ago and things have changed. the second amendment now days can be spoken with multiple ideas. Some people still think they should buy guns to protect them self from government, as others use them for sport or general protection. But sum use them to brake the law, this is were arguments start. Government wants to reduce guns or take them away depending on how you look at it. I believe that government does not want us to have guns, but not because they want to take over. Ultimately it is hard to say what the second amendment is now days. the only way to get a real answer would be to ask the people who made it, but they are dead...

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  36. Well, the Constitution was written 225 years ago, many MANY things have changed. Back then, we needed to defend ourselves against the British (Hey, the Natiive Americans were a threat because we were taking their land, put yourself in their position: you were the threat to them and their land. So there is my small rant, defending my people:). I can understand why our Founding Fathers decided to put that in there. But, that isnt the case now. Should we have a right to a gun? In my opinion, yes. But that comes with a responsibility to regulate gun laws, so threats like those in Arizona, will dwindle. Hopefully.

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  37. I don't think that we could actually determine what the Founding Fathers accurately meant. Society has changed a great deal these past centuries since the Constitution was written, and we interpret the amendment differently.

    Guadalupe Velasquez, Sloan Period 1

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  38. Everyone here has this amendment misinterpreted. To help clear things up its bear arms. Not guns or weapons. The founding fathers thought everyone had the right to BEAR arms. They fancied them for their walls as ornaments...
    Jk, hahah..Nah but on a more serious note, I mean times have changed. Back in the day we had way more threats and had more of a need for protection against uncontrollable outside terrorization. Now? Gun laws should be strict. There really is no need for guns; all they do is create problems. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have that right, just needs way more regulation. If this amendment was made for protection and security for us Americans, then it’s in our best interest now to have a stricter gun control so that innocent people don't get shot or killed by some idiot with a gun.

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  39. Emily Staab Bauer Per 2January 18, 2011 at 6:23 PM

    I think that the Founding Fathers meant that both the public and the militia can be armed. But I think the Founding Fathers would re-think the meaning of the second ammendment if they were to re- write it in today's time.

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  40. Jake Beilby..
    The second amendment is the best one the founders ever came up with. It ensures that we have the right to protect ones self if needed, from any threat domestic or foregin.

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  41. I don't think the framers could have imagined the world we live in today. I don't think the framers could have predicted that weapons could be concealed. If they lived today I think the second amendment would be different because we have a more advanced technology.
    Erica Ayala, Bauer, per. 4

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  42. Haley Neal Bauer Per 1January 18, 2011 at 6:34 PM

    I think the Founding Fathers didn't have a specific original intent. They made the entire Constitution open to interpretation so we can adjust it to suppost our country now-a-days. They stated that we can bear arms to have a Militia. That was relevant back then. But they didn't say guns could ONLY be used for that. Now, we can interpret "right to bear arms" differently. The Founding Fathers original intent was to creat a constitution that will be the GUIDE LINE, not as a definite law of the land.

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  43. I think the times has changed from before. Society is different from before. The founding Fathers probably didn't meant to have all these violence that's going on today. things have changed from the past. Probably the Founding Fathers didn't mean what people be using Guns as today to shoot innocent people.
    Sania Bacha
    Bauer, P.3

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  44. The second amendments says we have the right to bear arms... but to our safety i believe. Now n days things have been horrible and criminal rates have been increasing. i believe the founding fathers would keep society and our right the same so we can protect our selves for safety.

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  45. Omar Delgado Sloan Per 4January 18, 2011 at 6:52 PM

    well to start i dont beleive anyone of this time can precisely determin the original intent of the founding fathers. we live in an advanced society now so the situations they were in have completely changed. the conditions they lived in may have brought out a different meaning to their words than we think. they may not even handle gun cases like we do. for all we know mayb citizens did walk around carrying guns. but one thin is sure, we will never trully know

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  46. i think that it is time to amend this, times change and so should the constitution.
    vern iniguez
    SLOAN
    p1

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  47. John Skinner
    Mr. Sloan Per. 4

    Okay so it's relatively difficult to explain my thoughts on this subject, especially considering just the few comments i glanced at have already stated my intended thoughts, So i'll give it a try.

    The founding fathers did establish this regulation in a completely different time. So their true intentions can NEVER be carried through between the completely different generations. So as for the first question, no, i cannot determine their original intent besides the obvious protection from any threat ( which is the obvious reason weaponry was established ).

    As for the second question, should the founding fathers be here today, or the equivalent of, they would certainly establish these decrees differently. Because those laws were set in motion over 200 years ago, the weaponry is different. I can't imagine that the founding fathers could every imagine such ammunition as a .50 Cal round that could put a hole clean through 3 houses. As well as Nuclear and bio weaponry. To sum up, the founding fathers would certainly change their established regulations.

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  48. The idea of a militia is obsolete in the U.S., but the desire of the people to protect themselves, their families,and their property, still exists. I think that gun laws have grown too lax, with access to so many types of guns and the right to carry a weapon with you. I believe that guns should be kept at home for protection, except for certain exceptions such as hunting. Times have changed drastically and I think that the framers of the constitution would revise the constitution if they were here to see how guns play a part in our society today. Bauer/Sloan

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  49. I beleive that the Framers each had various intents for the constitution because many had diverse veiws on government and the political structure. The Founding Fathers would most definatly approach the issue of gun control differently due to the technology advancements and change in culture, for example, duels were legal in the US for sometime.

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  50. I believe no one can deffinatly tell the original intent of our founding "fathers". By the way I don't like the way how we use the words "founding father" because we act like their gods but they really arnt. They were just ordinary ppl like us exept they through together a plan in(the constitution) which was an experiment. The constitution was written in very difficult context and makes it very hard to even pass laws. No matter what the original intent was I believeour right to bare arms n the guns laws now are pefrectly finethe only thing wrong is that little sliver of crazy ppl that ruin it for everyone else

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  51. I believe that the founding fathers would have worded a lot of things differently if they were alive today, and this is one of them. I believe that they made it vague so that we could include gun control, or whatever was necessary for our nation to be safe. This is why I believe that at least some of the founding fathers only wanted guns to protect their fledgling nation. If they had wanted people to have guns everywhere they would have said that specifically, but they made it vague in order to insure that once outside threats were taken care of we could protect ourselves from each other by limiting who can have guns, and what kinds they can have.
    Bauer per. 1
    Sloan per. 3

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  52. Katie Frogue, Sloan, P1January 18, 2011 at 7:56 PM

    I think that the founding fathers gave the Unites States the right to bear arms to protect ourselves, property, things like that.. if the guns are legal and registered, i don't see the harm in it if it's for safety. Guns shouldnt be used for threatening or bad illegal stuff, although it is. but people have alot to protect nowadays, especially in the world we live in today you have to be super protective..

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  53. I think that it is very hard to understand the real intention that our founding fathers had on gun control. The only thing that I am sure of is that the days have changed, and we are in a new era. I personally believe that gun control should be allowed for protection purposes. Our founding fathers could have had concerns that needed the protection of guns that we may not have now. We cannot accuratley measure what the real intention of the second amendment was in their minds.

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  54. Ashley Parker, Bauer P2January 18, 2011 at 8:08 PM

    I believe the Founding Fathers wanted the second amendment to protect ourselves and our country. But nowadays we have a military and have laws and permits for guns. But I do think the Founding Fathers would change it up now with how much violence the United States has.

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  55. In my opinion I think the founding fathers wrent really thinking how much the world would change later on ... like today it is really worse then when they were around. I think that the founding fathers established the second amendment for people to protect themselves and their property but not just use it for violence. If guns are registered there shouldnt really be a harm in that.

    Jaskiran Kaur
    Mr. Bauer
    Government
    Period 2

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  56. No one can determine for sure the original intent of the founding fathers on gun control. The founding fathers likely intended guns to be used for protection of the owner. They would approach it in a manner that is a little more strict because guns are too comonly used to kill innocent people.

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  57. I beleive the founding fathers were very smart for the right to bear arms. It makes our people feel safer and it is our right to protect our selves if needed. Although it is very true that times have changed alot since back then and people may take advantage of the rights, some people are just crazy like the guy in arizona but that is just part of this world today. We should still be able to protect our selves, family and property against anyone willing to attack.
    Spencer Pellandini
    Sloan P.1

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  58. I think the founding fathers would agree to have the right to bear arms as they did in the olden days. If we had more guns then we would have more protection. If you look at states with less gun control they are safer. Such as Texas there crime rate is lower because they have more guns on each other.

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  59. I think that the issue on gun rights was made intentionally for us ourselves to carry our own weapons (right to bear arms). Our founding fathers were really smart to have thought of even mentioning "the right to bear arms" in the constitution. That has really come in handy now that is 200+ years. I do think that the founding fathers would approach the issue of guns rights the same way but also in a different way mainly because they'd made up the constitution so really they know what their intentions were on writing that.

    Adilene Vazquez
    Sloan Period 1

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  60. Joeylee Maimone, Sloan 4
    I believe that the Founding Fathers described the 2nd amendment as allowing us citizens the right to bear arms in times of threat or war. Everyone should be able to protect themselves if they are in a threatening situation but then again it shouldn't be taken advantage of.

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  61. i think if our founding fathers were alive today they would change the second amendment because we are much more violent today then back then. i think that the rite to bear arms is not good now because of things happening like the Arizona incident.

    bauer, p.3

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  62. I believe our founding fathers wrote the second amendment to help the citizens protect themselves after the country had first begun, because after the revolution there was no navy, amry, etc... Today, I think the right to bear arms is believed as an unalienable right.

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  63. Guna had a different meaning an purpose back when the constitution was written. Back then, it was used as basic homeland security and a true weapon; these days it is abused and utilized as a play thing. Adjusting the law would most likely not prevent people from continuing to use their fire arms in an abusive manner.

    Bauer P.2

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  64. Brian Magina, Sloan P.3January 18, 2011 at 8:59 PM

    No one can predict the future. The Founding Fathers agreed upon the law of a right to bear arms because it was necessary back then. In my opinion, this amendment is still necessary and I believe the Founding Fathers would approach guns the same way now. Everyone deserves a right to bear arms. Except crazy people and criminals of course though.

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  65. Sarah Richter, Bauer, Period 5January 18, 2011 at 9:05 PM

    I don't think we can determine what our founding fathers ment with the second amendment, because it was so long ago. If they were to be here today i think it would still be the same but more specific on when to use weapons. Now a days the rite to bear arms isn't such a good idea because people are overusing there rits and harming others when i think our founding fathers ment it in protection sake.

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  66. Gary Vasquez Period 3
    Mr.Bauer
    One can only imagine as to what the founding fathers where thinking when they put that in there. "The right to bare arms" Don't get me wrong I'm all game for it but its NOT for everyone... One must take into account that the days have changed since 1776 till now the present 2011 and they will continue to change; there is no pause button in life even though we all can use that every once in a great while. The matter of the fact is the constitution is like a car or technology it must be revised every few years to fluctuate as the new age is forth coming, none stop.
    A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks.
    Thomas Jefferson

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  67. As many have already said the founding fathers gave us the Right to bear arms so that we as people could protect ourselves and our things. Many people are taking advantage of this and using weapons for wrong doings. I think the founding fathers would change it up a little bit if they knew the way things were today.

    Victor Alvarez
    Sloan

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  68. The intent of the founding fathers regarding the right to bear arms is clearly stated. It is our right as free citizens to have them and use them for protection plain and simple. Politicians have an agenda to eliminate our rights and it is up to us to make sure we keep them.

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  69. Well i belive that the intent of the foinding faters should be considered since we intent to follow the constitution which they developed. I believe that their views and ideas should evolve with time though. In my interpretation of the 2nd amendment, the right to bear arms is given to the people in a militia if it is needed to keep their security.
    MR. Bauer Period 4

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  70. It's hard to know the original intent of our founding fathers about the right to bear arms, but I think they created that law to protect themselves from Britain and other invaders when they didn't have a centrally set militia. I do believe that the founding fathers would approach the gun situation differently today, because now we have a set military and no one really comes to invade us. We now have better protection although, there are still thieves and other criminals in our neighborhoods and it would be nice to own a gun to protect ourselves from them. But the problem with everyone having a gun is that the bad people would probably use their guns more often to do bad things, unless most get intimidated by the fact that everyone has a gun in their home and can kill the criminal, which is a risky choice for them.

    Melody Morphis
    Mr. Sloan
    per. 1

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  71. I think the founding fathers believed that the common individual should be able to have the right to own a gun. Of course this was made under the ideal that the guns would be for protection purposes ONLY. We have to take this into consideration that it is the 21st century though. Its not the wild west were individuals duel it out in the streets with revolvers. Nowadays its people driving by with automatics shooting up people's homes, peoples using them because their just plain psychopaths (Arizona incident), etc. However, I still believe people should be able to own guns.
    Marklin Nixon
    Mr. Sloan
    Period 1

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  72. The original intent of the Founding Fathers on bearing arms was for people being able protect themselves since there wasnt a an army like theres is today.
    cristina bernal
    Mr.Baur
    P.3

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  73. the right to bear arms is a sign of a good government. countries that don't allow the right to bear arms are the countries that are afraid of uprising because they know their people are unhappy. taking away this right would be a poor sign for the direction of our government.

    The founding fathers wisely wrote a completely ambiguous document that they knew would lead to controversy- and also knew they would be dead before people would try asking for an interpretation.

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  74. I think that the founding fathers wanted guns to be used for protection. If the constituion was wrtitten in modern times, the founding fathers would probably be more specific in order to avoid confusion regarding what arms were allowed.

    Omar hoyos

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  75. I THINK OUR FOUNDING FATHERS WROTE THE CONSTITUTION HOPING THE SOCIETY WOULD NEVER CHANGE. BACK IN THE DAYS PROTECTING YOURSELF WAS NOT A BIG DEEAL. IF U KILLED SOMEONE IT WAS LIKE GET TRIALED BUT NOT AS HEAVY AS TODAY. I THINK THAT OUR FOUNDING FATHERS WOULD SUPPORT A GUN LAW BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED IN SELF PROTECTION. THEY WANTED THE CITIZENS TO BE SAFE AND FEEEL SAFE.

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  76. I believe that the original intent of the second amendment was to allow people to own guns so that people could protect themselves during times of war. Even though the citizens of back then and the citizens of today live under different circumstanses, they both saw guns as a need to protect oneself from danger.

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  77. i think that the founding fathers created the 2nd amendment so that good, loyal citizens could protect themselves and their property. i think that carrying around a gun today serves a different purpose than it did back then, but it still gives people a feeling of safety and defense.
    ~~brooke fletcher:)
    mr. bauer
    period 2

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  78. Janeiry Balderas, period 4, Mr.SloanJanuary 18, 2011 at 10:11 PM

    I believe that the founding fathers meant the right to bear arms is meant for our sole protection. It does not matter whether it is the 1700s or the year 2011, i believe that the founders of our country meant for us to be able to protect ourselves from what ever we are faced with as long as we do not break the law. If you think about it they only decided to make this law since first of all there is a military but personally maybe some feel less safe and they should be able to protect themselves by having weapons. The only bad thing is the way that people regulate the use of weapons, and if it was not for that then there would be no problem when talking about the second amendment and whether we have the right to bear arms. the founders would probably say that it is all on us and how we control and use these guns.

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  79. I think that they would still think the same way about the gun issue and they would probably be on the farmers side because they probably new they the farmers would most likely use it for protection and would argue about the

    ricardo villalpando
    pr5
    sloan

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  80. The real intention that our founding fathers created the 2 admendment was to protect our selfs from the govenrment back than. If they would be here with us right know they would of see a different society that doesnt need t feer the government no more or people.
    Jonathan Ramos
    Mr. Bauer
    Per.2

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  81. I think the reason for the creation of the second amendment was so that citizens could revolt if needed to overthrow an unjust government. The society we live in today is totally different but I do believe it is being approached in the correct way, moderation is key

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  82. Sergio Maldonado, Sloan p.3/ Bauer p.4January 18, 2011 at 10:47 PM

    The founding fathers could have intended for all citizens to have weapons. Back then, people used weapons not only for protection from armies, but also for protection from wild animals and for food when they hunted. Weapons were neccessary for citizens to survive. They would approve of weapon use for protection in current times because of the gun laws.

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  83. i think when they made this amendement they ment it to make us feel safe and to protect our sevedles when needed.
    erika oropeza
    mr.sloan
    p.4

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  84. I think that when the founding fathers created the constitution a gun was something that was needed. Back then people would use their guns to get food and to protect themselves from armies. Nowadays guns arnt needed for anything besides to protect yourself.

    Gerardo Salcido
    Bauer P.5

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  85. Steven Reichmuth, Bauer, Period 2January 18, 2011 at 11:34 PM

    Sure you could outlaw guns but that only takes the guns out of the hands of the law-abiding citizens and leaves them in the hands of the criminals. Like everything that has been made illegal in this country, guns too would go underground. With all the gangs, criminal organizations, and the occasional looney out there the average citizen needs a way to defend themself and their family from the evil in this world. Sure you could call the police but the average police respond time is 11 minutes and 12 seconds. If the founding fathers were here today I'm almost positive that they would recognize the importance of the right to bear arms.

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  86. kevin krivda, Bauer P1
    The second amendment is one that is guarnteed for the people. Guns are not just a show of violence but of defense and security for people still. To ban that would be another example of big government getting too big and stepping in where it shouldnt. leave that issue up to the states to how they deal with gun control, state governments can handle issues too still

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  87. Samantha Barragan Mr. Bauer Pd. 3January 18, 2011 at 11:51 PM

    I think that when the founding fathers wrote that 2nd amendment they decided upon it based on protection and how it was back then. They used it because they had no real form of an army and it was a form of protection. Now a days though the uses have changed. People use them as more of a weapon than as for self defense. I think if they were here and saw what it was like they would change the laws for the 2nd amendment because now we have an amry and a source of protection.

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  88. amanda eckroth
    per.1
    sloan
    i think its right to bare arms becuz its for protection

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  89. i believe the second amendment was written for the people to have a means of protection from various dangers. But now at days we don't have to worry about most of those, not all. There are still reasons for personal protection and i'm sure the founding fathers would see that in todays society.

    Jason Lowery
    Bauer period 1

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  90. Natalie Nunez, p.1 BauerJanuary 19, 2011 at 6:31 AM

    I believe that the Founding Fathers would not act in the same way today about our gun rights. At the time, it was necessary for people to proect themselves from soldiers and inians. Now, we have different threaths that they would have to take into consideration. However, I think that we still need that right, only with more safety precautions and restrictions.

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  91. I believe that the second amendment is infered to be the right of a normal citizen to have weapons to use for self defense and hunting. There are not to be used for offense. also, according to an episode of family guy maybe they meant he right for people to own/wear the arms of a bear?!

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  92. The only true way to know the "original intent" of our founding fathers is to take a time machine back to their era, and as them what this means. Until then we can only infer the Constitution within reason. I believe the second amendment allows citizens to bear arms, whether it is the ability to own a gun, or do as Mr. Kelly stated.

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  93. Asher Maroot- Sloan P,1January 19, 2011 at 2:56 PM

    i believe the the second amendment was meant to give people the right to own their own personal weapons and not rely on a militia to do everything for them. weapons have greatly changed since the times when the amendments were written, but the rules will not change

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  94. Well, since no one happens to be the Founding Fathers other than the Founding Fathers, who are dead, the "original" or "true" intent of the Constitution will never be discovered. Everyone sees things the way they envision them, not through the eyes of the people who created those things. Even their vision of the person is skewed towards their ideals and beliefs. Based off of what the Constitution says and the beliefs and biases of the Founding Fathers, I would guess that a decent many of them agree that in order to protect yourself against a corrupt government, it is sufficient to supply yourself with weapons should you need to defend yourself. As far as maintaining that belief today, I think that if there is a possibility of a corrupt government (which there is always), then the Founding Fathers would probably vouch for citizens to have the right to own weapons. Is this true? We will never know.

    Brian S.
    Per. 4 Sloan

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  95. I believe the second amendment was set so that citizens would have the right to protect themselves if necessary and if in case they needed to abolish their government if it drited away from democracy. I think that today the right to bear arms thing isn't what the founding fathers originally planned it to become.

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  96. Enrique Angulo
    Bauer
    P.2 Government

    I do believe that some of us have took the second amendment and have twisted it a bit to make it seem like it is acceptable to bear a fire arm, but what the second pretty much is reffering to the colonies in the past that had their platoons to protect their people.

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  97. The Second Amendment states that a regulated militia has the right to bear arms as well as the people. That being said, it was intended to allow people to maintain some sort of protection against the dangers of those around them. However, this right is no longer really a right at all. Licenses are required, along with proper training. Very similar to driving a car, which also is a privilege, not a right. With so many people abusing this privilege today, I don't believe the Framers would take a much steeper approach to the gun issue today.
    Conner Woods Bauer

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  98. I think that the original intent of the 2nd amendment was to give the people protection and the ability to protect themselves. Though that hasnt changed i dont think the founding fathers would have wanted people to abuse the right to bear arms.

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  99. I think that the second amendment does give us the right to bear arms but it carries certain restrictions. The law today probably isn't what the founding fathers intended it to be.

    -Ivan Cardenas
    Mr. Sloan per. 3

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  100. the founding fathers wrot the 2nd amendment in order for us to have a safe way to go so we can keep ....(i forgot where i was going with this..) anyways they should revise the 2nd amendment for current days because the world naw-a-days is way different. and people have guns and everything that they just murder people like nothing.
    kim hernandez
    sloan
    p.4

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  101. i think the founding fathers intended us, 225 years later, to fit the amendment to our society. they didnt know then, how it was going to be now. people should not be able to just go out to town and purchase a weapon. they should only be sold to certified, trained people. I dont think they would approve of how easy it is to obtain guns nowadays, and especially the way people abuse them.
    Hayley Swearingen
    Sloan Per 4

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  102. I think that the founding fathers would want people to have weapons for protection and if they were to be alive during this time they would probably make some slite adjustments to the constitution because there are those who take it way too fare with this right but other than the they would keep it the same

    richard manzo
    sloan pr3

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  103. I believe that our founding fathers intended us to bear arms not only to protect our selves from our country but also our own society. Today we usually use guns for protection from other people not the government. I dont think they would be pleased to hear about people killing others for know significant reason but I do think they would be ok with hearing that we dont really need to protec ourselves from the govt and that they are the ones that protect us.

    STeffanie Eisenga
    Sloan
    Per.5

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  104. I believe that the founding fathers put that amendment into place, so people could protect themselves and the country when they felt they needed to. Today i am not sure if they would approach it in the same way, because people now own guns not to protect their countries or their homes but in some cases to harm others.

    Trista Dowdy
    Sloan per.5

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  105. Miriam Bejines P.5 Mr.SloanJanuary 19, 2011 at 8:10 PM

    I think that the founding fathers had their reasons to write the second amendment,even though it has passed a long time.A lot of people agree with this amendment because it secures protection towards dangerous issues.

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  106. Claudia Pantoja. p.5 Mr.SloanJanuary 19, 2011 at 8:13 PM

    The Second Amendment states that a regulated militia has the right to bear arms as well as the people.Though that hasnt changed i dont think the founding fathers would have wanted people to abuse the right to bear arms.I think that this amendment it is very important for all people.

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  107. I believe that the founding fathers wanted to allow people to bear arms so that they could protect themselves. People should be allowed to protect themselves, their families, and their property from any threat they may face. There should still be regulations to try and keep these weapons from falling into the wrong hands, however people should still be able to own them.

    Zach Mietz

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  108. kayla rodriguez sloan5January 19, 2011 at 8:51 PM

    i think that the second amendment is refering to our right to bear arms. i believe the founding founders intended for the citizens to be able to protect themselves when necessary to obviously feel safe. the founders would probably find a need to change the laws of guns nowadays for the reason that everything is just gettingway more dangerous than they thought things would ever be. guns should be for personal protection, not premeditated violence.

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  109. "A well regulated Militia" are the key words in deciding what the framers meant. Who's to say what they meant by a well regulated militia? Some believe this means citizens may bear arms if they are regulated by the government, others believe it means anyone seeking protection may bear arms. I think a well regulated militia means that, yes citizens may own a gun, however, obtaining one must be a more difficult task. Although they are extremely dangerous, buying a gun is not necessarily difficult. That is just ironic to me. If you buy a gun you must meet a set of requirements(must be determined) to own one.
    Gabriella Cello p.3 Mr. Sloan

    Gabriell

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  110. I don't know if we can completely understand what they meant at the time because we can't go back in time ask them. I think they may approach it a little differently today but i still think they would still believe in the right to bear arms because of what happened in the past and the right for Americans to protect themselves.

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  111. There's a reason why they wrote the Constitution so vaguely. So that years down the line, the words would still be valid. There's no specification as to what they meant when they wrote the second amendment, but essentially, it means our right to protect ourselves with arms.

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  112. I think that the founders ment we could personally bear arms for protection, for our safety. People should be able to purchance guns, for safety purposes only and which there is regulations and rules in order to own one,like having clean record history and etc... but most guns that are used in crimes are illegal guns and not legal in some cases.

    Santiago N Diaz P.1

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  113. I believe that we can't accurately tell what our Founding Fathers meant for gun control and for the 2nd Amendment. We could try to find a compromise between the two opinions: letting people keep guns only when there is present or coming danger. In present day, I believe that our Founding Fathers would still believe in what they believed in the past, because their opinion is their opinion, it's very difficult to change it and if they wanted the gun control limitations and freedoms to be that way, then that's how they're going to want it today.
    -Kevin Rodgers, Sloan, Period 2

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  114. I recently spoke to an English citizen and this topic came up. His take on it was that the amendment was passed to protect Americans and their rights from the British. That is no longer the reason people today bear arms. The truth is that people use guns for their own needs, whether it is protection or other reasons. Therefore, maybe the right to bear arms should be rethought now that our situation has changed. According to the American Journal of Epidemiomology, " Results show that regardless of storage practice, type of gun, or number of firearms in the home, having a gun in the home was associated with an increased risk of firearm homicide and firearm suicide in the home."
    http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/160/10/929.full
    Kayla Smith
    Sloan per 2

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  115. There is purposefully no specification as to what the founding fathers meant when they wrote the second amendment. I believe that militias and gun owners are important checks on our government. While there should be strict regulations, people should be allowed to protect themselves and their families, and their property from threats.

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  116. I think the original intent was to provide safety for ourselves. We should have the right to have guns, but not complete freedom of what we do with them. We need to be able to protect ourselves and at the same time, eachother.

    Daniel Ruiz
    Sloan, Per. 5

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  117. I believe the original intent of the Founders was that we should be able to have guns but only under the circumstances that we are a part of a militia like everyone was back then. I do not believe they'd approach this issue under the same light today since today we are not all a part of a "militia" of our "free state." Today we have certain people appointed to keep us safe (army, police, etc.) instead of having to fend for our own as it once was.


    --Sloan
    AP Econ, Period 3

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  118. No one could really know the possible reason to the truth behind the second amendment. I mean come on none of us were really there. Sure there is a secret behind the words stating we can own guns, but the true intent was never known. Could they have been drunks and just wanted to own a bunch of guns to look macho? Or really use them to shoot down the british and own for defense as we were told? Now, I have absolutely nothing against our founding fathers, but really we have no true way in knowing. The second amendment gives us the right to own our own guns. How we use them may be offensive, defensive, destructive, or even psychotic. All we know is that we have that right, and we (most of the American population) seriously appreciate those great men for this right.

    Jojo M, Sloan, P.5, Econ

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  119. My opinion is that you can't justify what our founding fathers said and meant to our constitution, but I know you should let other States and country's decide if they want to bear arms to their local citizens and not all of the U.S..

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  120. Even in todays society I think that people do have the right to bear arms. They have the right to protect themselves when they are being threatened. Now, the real question is are they going to go do stupid things with them? Probably. That's how people are, though some people know how to use a gun properly and won't go off and do something stupid.

    Samantha Aira
    Mr.Phenix Per.1

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  121. I think the original intent of the founding fathers was something along the lines of military needs and the right to bear arms. However, today, if you take guns away from citizens, the criminals will still have them making the innocent citizens less likely to defend themselves and increasing the chances of getting hurt, robbed, etc.

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  122. It's purpose as intended, and the way it's been interpretated are often too different things. The point I'm making is that our Constitution has been changed, re-interpreted and violated since its' birth. The constitution was written 220 years ago...the times have changed. If people want to keep referring back to the constitution, they should maybe be happy that we didn't repeal the Second Amendment like we did with the Eighteenth Amendment.

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  123. Alejandro Ibarra (Mr. Sloan, P.1)January 25, 2011 at 8:57 PM

    To me like everything over time changes, thats why i say that the founding fathers would have a different view about the 2nd amendment. i would also say that the right to bear arm means that we all should be able to defend ourself with a weapon or none.

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  124. The founding fathers meant for our country to feel safe and be able to protect oursleves in times of harm. They also hoped to maintain a level of peace at the same time. However, the constitution should not be referred to at this point in time. times have severly changed since 200 years ago.
    Danielle Barros
    Sloan p.4

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