Bankers and gun owners

[ThomWV]

The Constitution provides for a well regulated militia so you'd think we could at least insist on a well regulated banking industry too.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

1. We could...if we actually had any power. Unfortunately

corporations own the world.

[oneshooter]

2. Well regulated Militia, do you know what that means.

A "well regulated Militia" in 1776 was a Militia unit that used the same weapons and ammo as the Regular Army. They were trained in the battle tactics in use at the time. The Militia owned their own weapons, and supplied, at their own expense, 60rds per man in ammunition. They elected their own Officers, both Commissioned and Non-Commissioned. Their uniforms and field equipment was supplied by the State.

Learn your history.

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas

[apocalypsehow]

3. The OP was using a metaphor - that's spelled M-E-T-A-P-H-O-R. When you learn how to read,

have loads of fun reading the definition of same and writing it down.

[Paladin]

4. Learn How To Produce A Coherent Sentence.

"Their uniforms and field equipment was supplied by the State."

Nice....

[gratuitous]

5. There is no Supreme Court interpretation

So legally, that phrase has never been interpreted by a court and has no legal "meaning." However, whatever the meaning of the words may have been in 1776, it wouldn't be germane to a discussion of the text, even from an historical or "original intent" standpoint, as the Constitution was not adopted for another 13 years after 1776, and the Second Amendment wasn't ratified until 1791.

Thus endeth the history lesson.

[TheWraith]

8. Actually there is, District of Columbia v. Heller.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Columbia_v._Heller

The SCOTUS established that the phrase "well regulated" refers to the same thing it did back then, i.e. a well-trained citizen militia for emergency situations, existing in both organized (National Guard) and unorganized (all able-bodied males 17 to 45) forms.

[gratuitous]

12. The majority didn't treat the phrase "well-regulated militia"

Apparently, Justice Scalia, writing for the majority, considers the first part of the Second Amendment to be mere window dressing, and the actual meat and intent of the Amendment is wholly encapsulated in the second part, and guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms.

It's nonsensical, and hardly comports with Scalia's repeated public comments about his fealty to "original intent" and the text of the law as written, but Scalia has been known to take a short-cut through the law when it suits him to reach an interpretation he finds pleasing.

[TheWraith]

14. Like it or not, that's been the majority view of legal scholars for centuries.

If the framers had intended the second only to apply to use of arms in a militia, they could have said so. Instead they provided a very clear endorsement of an individual right to bear arms. The argument otherwise is as ridiculous as the one that claims US laws don't apply to non-citizens on US soil, trying to twist the wording of the law against the original intent.

[Mugweed]

7. That's your interpretation of well regulated

I learned up my historyin' too. I know that there is not actually a definition of "well regulated" in the Constitution. Thanks for the tidbit of Revolutionary War history, now back to the present and the OP.

[guardian]

11. Founders intended right of individuals to bear arms

A key consideration of the founders was that the People have the ability to prevent/overthrow a tyrannical government. Hard to achieve if the 'militia' IS the government, and controlled by the government.


One of many snips from the Federalist Papers

James Madison in Federalist No. 46 wrote:

Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments,to which the people are attached, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of. Notwithstanding the military establishments in the several kingdoms of Europe, which are carried as far as the public resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. And it is not certain, that with this aid alone they would not be able to shake off their yokes. But were the people to possess the additional advantages of local governments chosen by themselves, who could collect the national will and direct the national force, and of officers appointed out of the militia, by these governments, and attached both to them and to the militia, it may be affirmed with the greatest assurance, that the throne of every tyranny in Europe would be speedily overturned in spite of the legions which surround it.

[Mugweed]

13. Reads to me like the government must be involved.

Madison clearly indicates that the militia is to be directed by the government chosen by the people. The Federalist Papers do not support a militia free from government regulation.

[TheWraith]

6. Two words: "interstate commerce."

Bam.

[pipoman]

9. The deregulation and ultimate

collapse of the banking industry was, IMNSHO, caused by repubs pushing deregulation as it pertained to the lending to deposits ratio of banks AND the dems pushing on the lowering of lending standards to allow more people to buy homes even tough they didn't have the financial ability to repay. Bipartisan agreement/compromise are nearly always very, very bad for everyone except the wealthy and politicians.

[asdjrocky]

10. Could we just put all of them in the same room?