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REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS
Gun Control
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 6:12 PM
KANEMAN
Quote:Originally posted by 1kiki: Oh, Wulf is on about his *** GOD GIVEN **** right to own a gun. Again. Yep, it's right there in the 10 commandments. Or maybe in the lessons of Jesus. Go after it, boy. Keep at it. I'm sure you'll be living the dream if you just -don't-give-up-.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 6:27 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Hardware: Quote:Originally posted by Kwicko: You have a "God given" right to a gun? Where in the bible is that? "Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill It is in the Bill of Rights, where the enumerated rights are natural rights, not rights granted by the government. Gun control isn't about guns. It is about control. The more I get to know people the more I like my dogs. ...and he that has no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. Luke 22:36
Quote:Originally posted by Kwicko: You have a "God given" right to a gun? Where in the bible is that? "Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 6:28 PM
KWICKO
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)
Quote:Originally posted by SignyM: Quote:Have fun. Its amusing. I fight/argue/stand for the general populations ability to excercise self-defense, freedom, and a natural right. In doing so, Im called "ignorant". No, I'm not calling you ignorant because you own a gun. I'm calling you ignorant because you're ignorant. And your reading comprehension is abysmal too. Wulf, I own a gun. At times, I've owned more than one. Quote:Hey, you are completely free NOT to own a gun. Just don't go telling me I can't. See? There you are with that reading comprehension problem again. Did I say you shouldn't own a gun? Anywhere? At any time? If you really think I have (as you seem to keep insisting) please quote me here ... or please kindly STFU. My point is not that guns aren't useful, but that they are only useful for SOME things... like individual self defense. They're not even good for "protecting your liberties", because as an individual you are pretty much helpless. You will only be effective if you're organized, and combine your efforts with the efforts of others. If you can't do that, you won't get anywhere. BTW- My hubby's favorite is an Ithica over-under 12 gage and he loads his own ammo, but he only likes to shoot clay pigeons. And I only like to plink. Come mess with us, though, and we'll both make an exception.
Quote:Have fun. Its amusing. I fight/argue/stand for the general populations ability to excercise self-defense, freedom, and a natural right. In doing so, Im called "ignorant".
Quote:Hey, you are completely free NOT to own a gun. Just don't go telling me I can't.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 6:33 PM
1KIKI
Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 6:43 PM
HARDWARE
Quote:Originally posted by Kwicko: Quote:Originally posted by Hardware: Wow, DT. I am so glad SCOTUS disagrees with you, as they did in Heller vs. DC and McDonald vs. Chicago. Thanks to those decisions the right to keep and bear arms definitely belongs to the people, for the purpose of self defense. And now the states have to make their laws conform to those decisions. Doubly ironic, as Illinois is one of the 5 states that does not have right to keep and bear arms in their state constitution or has it in a limited manner. Hey, I'm with ya, and I'm with SCOTUS on the Heller and the McDonald decisions. But there's a move afoot now from conservative corners to cite the more convenient parts of the 10th Amendment, which avers states' rights. They want to use carefully-interpreted language in the Amendment to claim that states can "opt out" of certain provisions within the Constitution (this is coming via revisionist conservative historians like David Barton) if they don't feel like following such provisions. The danger here, of course, is that the reading they can use to skirt the First Amendment, other states can use to skirt the Second. Or the Fourth. Or the Eighth. And so it goes...
Quote:Originally posted by Hardware: Wow, DT. I am so glad SCOTUS disagrees with you, as they did in Heller vs. DC and McDonald vs. Chicago. Thanks to those decisions the right to keep and bear arms definitely belongs to the people, for the purpose of self defense. And now the states have to make their laws conform to those decisions. Doubly ironic, as Illinois is one of the 5 states that does not have right to keep and bear arms in their state constitution or has it in a limited manner.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 6:45 PM
Quote:Originally posted by kaneman: I second this post...Kwicko you know we are not governed by the bible, but we are by our Constitution....and "Natural right" happens to be wulfs god....can't kill him for that....I'd like to hear your argument against "our" natural rights"....without snark.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 6:53 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Hardware: I've said before I think that our grand experiment in a representative republic is coming to an end. If the elected decide to pick and choose which laws they are going to follow, that is surely a harbinger of the end of the republic. I guess it has been going on a long time. Just like the Roman republic we are modeled on, the rot goes on for a long time before the system fails. Sad too, I kind of liked it when the system worked.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 7:01 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Kwicko: Quote:Originally posted by kaneman: I second this post...Kwicko you know we are not governed by the bible, but we are by our Constitution....and "Natural right" happens to be wulfs god....can't kill him for that....I'd like to hear your argument against "our" natural rights"....without snark. Without snark? That's a tall order... We ARE governed by our Constitution. OUR Constitution. Not "god's", OURS. Written BY MEN, FOR MEN. Not written by "god", not governed by "god", no "god" even being mentioned in the document. It is a government invented by Man, to govern Man. You can talk about "natural rights" all day long, but what you call "natural rights", other nations call other things, and some nations call them nonexistent. We do not apply these so-called "natural rights" equally, either. We as a nation officially don't believe these "natural rights" apply to anyone other than those lucky enough to be born here. So they aren't any kind of "universal rights", clearly. They are AMERICAN RIGHTS, and are only such because AMERICAN MEN wrote them into a document. Wulf's "god" isn't "natural rights"; he's said before that he believes in god. Nevertheless, I'd not "kill him" for believing in god. I would, however, argue that his god didn't give him the right to own a gun in America. No "god" gave him that right - a group of men did. Even if all they did was recognize and acknowledge a right they believed already existed, that was still a group of men doing so, for the first time. It wasn't a god who wrote the document, but a group of men. As such, the right to keep and bear arms is a man-created, man-recognized, man-given right. No god can give it, or take it away, but men can do both. For those who think I'm splitting hairs or quibbling over subtle nuances, ponder this: Geezer said that the Constitution was men recognizing or acknowledging rights already believed to be in our possession. Or that's pretty close to what he posted; I agree, for the most part, and thought his reply was the most succinct and on-point of all. Anyway, to state that a right exists should IN NO WAY be construed as calling such a right "god-given". You know how I know this? Because if I said that gays have the right to marry, and that it's self-evident that this should be so and should be universally recognized, and the courts agreed and said that the Constitutional protections would guarantee this to be the case, would you then say that gay marriage is a God-given right? Yeah, I didn't think so. We as a people have the rights that we can fight for, and grab, and keep. We don't fight gods for them, we don't grab our rights from any gods, and we don't keep them from gods - we fight men, grab our rights from men, and keep them safe from other men, FOR other men. Thus endeth the lecture. "Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 7:11 PM
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 7:21 PM
Quote:Originally posted by 1kiki: I have this sort-of idea that the problem is that we people fall into the habit of mistaking words for reality. We say FREEDOM, EQUALITY, FAITH, PROFIT, CAPITALISM, (pick your theme here), and expect other people to put their faith in those words, to live by them, work for them, kill - and die - for them, and, oddly enough --- they do. Without anything other than someone's say-so. That that word of random choice is a good thing and it'll all be worth it, some day. Maybe not right away, maybe not even in your lifetime, but in the distant bright future. Trust me. We live on faith. We never seem to get around to asking - in concrete terms, how specifically is this (pick your theme here) going to make my reality better? Maybe FREEDOM isn't an ideal. Maybe it's a job, or at least a project. With specific goals, plans, tasks, mile-markers. And as experience is gathered, circumstances change, knowledge grows, the task needs to be debated, reoriented, adjusted. Maybe the idea shouldn't be to look at somebody's dead words from the past and try to disinter them, but to come to the specifics that make a better reality live today.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 7:27 PM
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 7:52 PM
Quote:Originally posted by 1kiki: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA --- you deluded fool. But hey, go ahead, call me Sig. It'll make me laugh at you even more.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 8:20 PM
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 1:28 AM
WULFENSTAR
http://youtu.be/VUnGTXRxGHg
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 2:26 AM
MAGONSDAUGHTER
Quote:Originally posted by Kwicko: Quote:Originally posted by kaneman: I second this post...Kwicko you know we are not governed by the bible, but we are by our Constitution....and "Natural right" happens to be wulfs god....can't kill him for that....I'd like to hear your argument against "our" natural rights"....without snark. Without snark? That's a tall order... We ARE governed by our Constitution. OUR Constitution. Not "god's", OURS. Written BY MEN, FOR MEN. Not written by "god", not governed by "god", no "god" even being mentioned in the document. It is a government invented by Man, to govern Man. You can talk about "natural rights" all day long, but what you call "natural rights", other nations call other things, and some nations call them nonexistent. We do not apply these so-called "natural rights" equally, either. We as a nation officially don't believe these "natural rights" apply to anyone other than those lucky enough to be born here. So they aren't any kind of "universal rights", clearly. They are AMERICAN RIGHTS, and are only such because AMERICAN MEN wrote them into a document. Wulf's "god" isn't "natural rights"; he's said before that he believes in god. Nevertheless, I'd not "kill him" for believing in god. I would, however, argue that his god didn't give him the right to own a gun in America. No "god" gave him that right - a group of men did. Even if all they did was recognize and acknowledge a right they believed already existed, that was still a group of men doing so, for the first time. It wasn't a god who wrote the document, but a group of men. As such, the right to keep and bear arms is a man-created, man-recognized, man-given right. No god can give it, or take it away, but men can do both. For those who think I'm splitting hairs or quibbling over subtle nuances, ponder this: Geezer said that the Constitution was men recognizing or acknowledging rights already believed to be in our possession. Or that's pretty close to what he posted; I agree, for the most part, and thought his reply was the most succinct and on-point of all. Anyway, to state that a right exists should IN NO WAY be construed as calling such a right "god-given". You know how I know this? Because if I said that gays have the right to marry, and that it's self-evident that this should be so and should be universally recognized, and the courts agreed and said that the Constitutional protections would guarantee this to be the case, would you then say that gay marriage is a God-given right? Yeah, I didn't think so. We as a people have the rights that we can fight for, and grab, and keep. We don't fight gods for them, we don't grab our rights from any gods, and we don't keep them from gods - we fight men, grab our rights from men, and keep them safe from other men, FOR other men. Thus endeth the lecture.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 3:29 AM
SIGNYM
I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.
Quote:Originally posted by 1kiki: ... if you're so rich why can't you afford even a mediocre lawyer for GF?
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 3:42 AM
THEHAPPYTRADER
Quote:For those who think I'm splitting hairs or quibbling over subtle nuances, ponder this: Geezer said that the Constitution was men recognizing or acknowledging rights already believed to be in our possession. Or that's pretty close to what he posted; I agree, for the most part, and thought his reply was the most succinct and on-point of all. Anyway, to state that a right exists should IN NO WAY be construed as calling such a right "god-given". You know how I know this? Because if I said that gays have the right to marry, and that it's self-evident that this should be so and should be universally recognized, and the courts agreed and said that the Constitutional protections would guarantee this to be the case, would you then say that gay marriage is a God-given right? Yeah, I didn't think so. We as a people have the rights that we can fight for, and grab, and keep. We don't fight gods for them, we don't grab our rights from any gods, and we don't keep them from gods - we fight men, grab our rights from men, and keep them safe from other men, FOR other men. Thus endeth the lecture.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 3:59 AM
Quote:I also notice noone commented on the fact that California, with some of the worst gun-control laws, is releasing about 41,000 prisoners back onto its streets.
Quote:even if it were ONLY for the militia... every able-bodied male over the age of 18 in America is, by law, part of the militia and expected defend her.
Quote:A single person with a gun can't change history? Have you studied history?
Quote:Also, the argument that the 2a was meant only for the militia, has been curb-stomped to death by Heller...
Quote:Originally posted by Wulfenstar: "God-given" = "natural-right" = "inherent-right" As in, a "right" that can neither be given, nor taken away. Tho, some governments have tried. Im thinking of the Nazis, the Khmer Rouge etc..
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 8:26 AM
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 8:56 AM
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 9:06 AM
Quote:Originally posted by SignyM: Quote:Originally posted by 1kiki: ... if you're so rich why can't you afford even a mediocre lawyer for GF? Kinda wondered the same thing. Kaney- a legend in his own mind. It's sad.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 9:11 AM
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 11:49 AM
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 11:55 AM
Quote:Originally posted by Wulfenstar: bump past Kanes cry for help and to get back on topic... "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies"
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 12:34 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Hardware: Hey Sig, try open carrying your gun with a loaded mag locked and one in the chamber. I'd hope the cops wouldn't shoot on sight, but I'm not taking those odds. In Delaware, I open carry almost every day. Unless I am going to a prohibited location, like the courthouse or behind enemy lines into Maryland or New Jersey. Even Pennsylvania is open carry friendly. California? Not so much. The more I get to know people the more I like my dogs. ...and he that has no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. Luke 22:36
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 12:39 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Wulfenstar: "So? If the gun-control laws in CA are so bad, how izzit that I own a gun? I haven't noticed any lack of gun ownership. What's your point?" Ahem: http://www.bradycampaign.org/stategunlaws/scorecard/
Quote: "Really? What law is that? I hope you can quote that for me here. And, how does a group of disorganized individuals constitute a "well regulated" militia?" To quote: -HEAD- Sec. 311. Militia: composition and classes -STATUTE- (a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, or are, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States, also included are those who are members of the National Guard. (b) The classes of the militia are - (1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and (2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 12:48 PM
Quote:Originally posted by TheHappyTrader: Splitting more hairs, does the bible really condemn gay marriage? What is God's view on homosexuality? The subject must be sooooo important seeing as how it was only mentioned 7 times, and never by Jesus or the major prophets, and not as we understand it today, and is almost exclusive to the old testament... but I digress.
Quote: Even if I believe my religion does grant the right to gay marriage, or even guns for that matter, I do agree that our laws should not be based exclusively on my religion.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 2:05 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Kwicko: Quote:Originally posted by Hardware: Hey Sig, try open carrying your gun with a loaded mag locked and one in the chamber. I'd hope the cops wouldn't shoot on sight, but I'm not taking those odds. In Delaware, I open carry almost every day. Unless I am going to a prohibited location, like the courthouse or behind enemy lines into Maryland or New Jersey. Even Pennsylvania is open carry friendly. California? Not so much. The more I get to know people the more I like my dogs. ...and he that has no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. Luke 22:36 Speaking of which, my state (Texas) just passed a law so folks can carry on college campuses. We have a Republican supermajority here. Oddly, though, while pushing for MORE places to be free for gun-carriers, they also voted to put in more metal detectors at the state capitol building. So it seems they think WE'RE all safer with more guns in more places, but they sure as fuck don't want our guns anywhere near THEM!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 2:26 PM
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 7:17 PM
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 9:31 PM
Quote:Legal research on the subject of militias raises the question of their authority to organize. Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States provides that: "The Congress shall have the power ... To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions ... To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress." The Second Amendment reads: "A well regulated militia being necessary [for] a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." The Constitution, therefore, demonstrates that militias are a creature of the state, subject to being called forth by the U.S. government "to execute the laws of the Union..." This is bolstered by the wording of the Second Amendment which holds, "A well regulated militia being necessary [for] a Free State..." and by Article 1, Section 8, Subsection (16), which reserves to the states "the appointment of officers and the authority of training the militia..." Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 311 further stipulates that the militia consists of all able-bodied males aged 17 to 45, both citizens and those who have declared their intent to become citizens, and of female citizens who are officers of the National Guard. It also specifies that the militia consists of two classes: the organized militia and the unorganized or reserve militia. Many states have similar statutes. Those citizens who apply, or are called up for service and are accepted by a state militia, are part of an organized militia. All others eligible under the law are members of the unorganized militia, and are subject to call up by the state. Thus, while most citizens are members of the militia
Quote:and therefore have the right to keep and bear arms to respond to a call to assemble by lawful authority, the appointment of officers, and the training of militia members are the responsibility of the state. These militias that purport to support the Constitution, yet have appointed their own officers and conduct their own training without authority from the state, are therefore in apparent violation of Article 1, Section 8, Subsection 16 of the U.S. Constitution.
Quote:try open carrying your gun with a loaded mag locked and one in the chamber.
Thursday, May 26, 2011 3:27 AM
Thursday, May 26, 2011 5:29 AM
Quote:No. There are certain "rights", recognized by the Constitution, as being inherent to every human being on the planet. The Constitution, and our entire form of government was designed to PREVENT those in power from infringing on them.
Quote:The problem is, there are far too many who want to see us controlled, and our rights curbed. I never understood gun-control people. Or Politically Correct people either, for that matter.
Quote:Do these types WANT to be defenseless? Do they WANT to not be able to speak out? Or is it that they only want OTHER groups to be that way?
Thursday, May 26, 2011 7:08 AM
Quote:Originally posted by SignyM: RE CA gun ownership laws.... the laws here have never prevented me from owning a gun for self-defense, so I guess they're not all THAT horrible. HARDWARE: Quote:try open carrying your gun with a loaded mag locked and one in the chamber. Why would I want to do that? It's stupid, and doesn't add a whit to my personal safety, or to the comfort and repose of the people around me. It's like you going around and waving your dick in the air. It seems to me that YOU just want to be all aggressive and asshole-like. Why would you want to do that? --------------------- My point is that "gun ownership" is really only good for a few things... maybe personal safety in some instances. Hunting. Recreation. Investment (rare, collectible)... I think I just ran out of ideas. But as a guarantee of your "rights", guns suck. You and your guns mean nothing if you're facing a truly determined police force or military. If you REALLY want to be free, the first thing you have to do is free your mind, know your real self-interests and recognize your true enemy. That is why the First Amendment is FIRST.... because before you pick up a gun, you had better be thinking and you had better act collectively.
Thursday, May 26, 2011 7:10 AM
Quote:Originally posted by Kwicko: Yeah, New Hampshire and Vermont have some pretty wild things going on. Open-carry in NH, and universal healthcare via public option in VT. Crazy old world. I'd kinda like to live on the NH/VT border right about now. Except for the winters, maybe. "Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill
Thursday, May 26, 2011 7:24 AM
Quote:Originally posted by 1kiki: "I have already posted to Kwicko that I got the lawyer, but could not bond her out." Yeah, 'cause you didn't have the cash to do both. Hmmm, what's got the best sale price ... You know, given my lowly grubbing and your awesome wealth, I find it strange that I could afford both the lawyer and the bail ... many times over, plus that plane ticket that you seem to not be able to scratch together, so poor you, you gotta' go on that HOURS long road trip ... well, I guess your awesomeness just didn't pan out. Say hi to your mom and dad next time you see them in "your" "boathouse" basement.[/QUOTe You want me to fly to niantic from bradley international...are you stupid, it is not even possible, secondly it does take an hour to drive there an hour to wait, an hour to visit, and an hour to get back...my dad is dead, but i will say hi to mom next time i see her...loan me the 18,000 for bail....cause if i did both id be hurting...i do have child support, alimony, mortgage, etc....and as much as i love marilyn...i cant bring my checking account that low...we are not married. And most dear friends wouldnt even pay the 10000 for the attorney...let alone all the commisary money for food and tv and other shit, so you can belittle my efforts all you want...marilyn is more than greatfull. And that is what matters...
Thursday, May 26, 2011 10:33 AM
Thursday, May 26, 2011 10:42 AM
Thursday, May 26, 2011 11:51 AM
Thursday, May 26, 2011 1:37 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Wulfenstar: Sig, Again. You have the right to NOT own a gun. I have the right to own a pistol, with a 30+ magazine, or .50 cal rifle, or a fully automatic rifle chambered in 556 or 308.
Quote: I also have the right to carry it with me whereever I go.
Quote: Why do you think the "red" states are so safe?
Quote: Even the gangbanger monkees KNOW not to fuck with people HERE.
Quote: Who wants to go full Bosnia for a T.V.? Just go to NY, MD, CA, etc if you want an easy win.
Thursday, May 26, 2011 1:44 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Wulfenstar: http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=6828 Well, instead of just flat out making handguns illegal, the slaves have decided on a different course. Make guns unable to funtion at all!
Quote: You stupid, STUPID fucking slaves. I talk with my militia friends and it comes to this.. "If they are so stupid... so ready to be slaves, ready to bow down to any "person" in charge... then when we have to take back their areas... they deserve what they get."
Thursday, May 26, 2011 2:38 PM
NEWOLDBROWNCOAT
Quote:Originally posted by Magonsdaughter: Just an idea about some historical context. Wasn't the constitution drafted at a time when there were no or few standing armies, when people, or princes, or kings, actually raised their own militias, that relied on their own weaponry? The concurrent laws in Britain had prevented protestants from carrying arms, but allowed catholics, which meant that catholics could organise militias/armies against the protestants but not the other way around. Or perhaps it was the other way around. There were no trained armies, or policeforces either, and life wasn't some libertarian paradise either before anyone starts on about what a good idea that was. Might equalled right back then as well, and armed conflict was probably much more prevalent in Europe than in modern times. So wasn't that the spirit in which the constitution was drafted. In a time so different, that people may have been a different species. I'm pretty sure the drafters didn't envisage the kind of weaponry around today, and the strength and sophistication of modern military forces.
Thursday, May 26, 2011 3:25 PM
Thursday, May 26, 2011 4:22 PM
Thursday, May 26, 2011 6:55 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Magonsdaughter: I believe that a standing armies of that era did not muchly resemble what we know of armies today, and were still a new concept, and were relatively small.
Quote: The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland... Early in 1775, the British Army consisted of about 36,000 men worldwide, but wartime recruitment steadily increased this number. Over the course of the war, Great Britain signed treaties with various German states, which supplied about 30,000 soldiers. Germans made up about one-third of the British troop strength in North America. Hesse-Kassel contributed more soldiers than any other state, and German soldiers became known as "Hessians" to the Americans. Revolutionary speakers called German soldiers "foreign mercenaries," and they are scorned as such in the Declaration of Independence. By 1779, the number of British and German troops stationed in North America was over 60,000, although these were spread from Canada to Florida.
Thursday, May 26, 2011 7:13 PM
Quote:At the beginning of the 18th century the standing strength of the British Army was reduced after the Treaty of Ryswick, and stood at 7,000 troops at home and 14,000 based overseas,[1] with recruits ranging from 17 to 50 years of age. The army was kept small by the government during peacetime, mainly due to the fear that the army would be unduly influenced by the Crown or used to depose the government.[2] The Bill of Rights of 1689 specifies that Parliamentary authority is needed to maintain a standing army in peacetime. For much of the 18th century, the army was recruited in a wide variety of places, and many of its recruits were mercenaries from continental Europe, including Danes, Hessians and Hanoverians.[3] These mercenaries were hired out by other rulers on contracted terms. Other regiments were formed of volunteers such as French Huguenots. By 1709, during the War of the Spanish Succession, the British Army totalled 150,000 men, of whom 81,000 were foreign mercenaries.[3] The rest of the army consisted of natives of the British Isles, apart from the officers mainly recruited from the poorest sections of society. Each regiment was responsible for the recruitment of its own troops, and individual colonels would lead recruiting parties on tours of the towns and villages. This was emphasized by a popular play of the time called The Recruiting Officer.[4] Other powers were given by the British government to allow the forcible enlistment of vagrants and vagabonds. Some of these powers were abused by recruiting officers desperate to fill their quotas, although a legalized Royal Navy press-gang system would not be implemented yet,[4] even though normal recruiting methods failed to supply the required annual influx of troops, as the army was not a popular profession, with low pay, flogging and other barbarous disciplinary measures.[2] The army's recruiting methods and treatment of its soldiers would remain the same for the rest of the 18th century. Press gang, British caricature of 1780 During the American Revolutionary War, a policy similar to the Navy's Press Gangs was introduced. Two acts were passed, the Recruiting Act 1778 and the Recruiting Act 1779, for the impressment of individuals. For some men this would have been for being drunk and disorderly. The chief advantages of these acts was in the number of volunteers brought in under the apprehension of impressment. To avoid impressment, some recruits incapacitated themselves by cutting off the thumb and forefinger of the right hand. Both acts were repealed in 1780.[5] The British Government also released criminals and debtors from prison on the condition they joined the army. Three entire regiments during the American Revolution were raised from this early release programme.[6] Of the Volunteer recruits, some would find they had been enticed to take the King's shilling under false pretenses and many men would find they had signed to a lifetime in the army.[5] After the defeat of Great Britain by the American revolutionaries, the British Army fell into dereliction (it should be noted that the army in 1775 was in a poor state anyway), morale and discipline were low, and troops levels fell.[7] The Army was neglected as never before and its total strength in 1793 stood at 40,000 men.[8]
Quote:The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution was heavily influenced by the English Bill of Rights 1689 which restricted the right of the Federal government to interfere with the personal right to bear arms. The Bill of Rights 1689 restricted the right of the monarch to have a standing army and to interfere with the personal right to bear arms. It did not create a new right to have arms, but instead rescinded and deplored acts of the deposed King James II which restricted Protestants rights to have arms whilst at the same time allowing Catholics to keep theirs. The English Bill of Rights firmly established that the right to bear arms was a right within the powers of Parliament to regulate and did not belong to the monarch. Although it was never repealed, those parts of the Bill that refer to the ban on the keeping of standing armies and the right to bear arms, are now considered obsolete.
Thursday, May 26, 2011 7:17 PM
Quote:Sig, Again. You have the right to NOT own a gun. I have the right to own a pistol, with a 30+ magazine, or .50 cal rifle, or a fully automatic rifle chambered in 556 or 308. I also have the right to carry it with me whereever I go. Why do you think the "red" states are so safe? Even the gangbanger monkees KNOW not to fuck with people HERE.
Thursday, May 26, 2011 7:34 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Magonsdaughter: It seems to me that most Americans who own weapons do so for personal protection or recreation and very little to do with being part of a militia or prevention of tyranny. And those who do want to be part of militias seem like very strange and scary dudes who suffer from paranoia.
Quote: Most male citizens of the American Colonies were required by law to own arms and ammunition for militia duty.
Thursday, May 26, 2011 8:55 PM
Friday, May 27, 2011 1:38 AM
Quote:Originally posted by NewOldBrownCoat: Quote:Originally posted by Magonsdaughter: It seems to me that most Americans who own weapons do so for personal protection or recreation and very little to do with being part of a militia or prevention of tyranny. And those who do want to be part of militias seem like very strange and scary dudes who suffer from paranoia. I agree with you just about 100 % about most of these modern day dudes. As to history, I will , reluctantly, admit that you might know more about the historical British army than I do. And while researching the English Brown Bess musket vs. the Virginia long rifle , I came across this tidbit on Wikipedia: Quote: Most male citizens of the American Colonies were required by law to own arms and ammunition for militia duty. With I could attribute that statement to a historical document, but it does have, to me, a ring of truth.
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