Mike Vickers' Blog

A recent article in Time on the tragic shoot at Aurora in Colorado takes up again the need or otherwise for Gun Control in the US.  Like most British people I am horrified about the power of the gun lobby in the US.  The article quotes the Second Amendment and I thought I had better look up this amendment which I did on Wiki.

You too can read it at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

It’s a very detailed and I would think very precise article and the Second Amendment of 1789 looks very much involved with establishing a balance between the Central Government and the States and the rights of the States to take up arms against the Central Government if the balance gets out of kilter in favour of the Central Government – a balance still very much at the heart of the upcoming Presidential Elections.  Interestingly the article goes on to indicate that it is only in the 20^th Century that the Second Amendment has been reinterpreted to allow US citizens almost cart blanche to carry arms specifically for their own protection.

However the point that intrigued me was that the Second Amendment was to the US Bill of Rights and the Bill of Rights in this respect is based on the English Bill of Rights of 1689 which allows the English citizens to carry Arms for their Defence – in this case their defence against the monarchy.

I am mortified!  When was this English right ever rescinded – I need to delve further.