The question before the courts should be simple: How did people at the time of the Constitution’s ratification define “arms”? [More]
“Weapons of war” are precisely what the Founders had in mind.
Thomas Wants to Address What ‘Arms’ are Protected by Second Amendment
Using the definition of ‘arms’ from the 18th century, around the time of the writing of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, ‘arms’ includes all weapons, armor, support equipment and manufacturing equipment. So a cannon, the carriage and limber, and the foundry are covered under ‘arms’. So are armed ships and wagons, and anything that can be used to kill or maim people.
As to the ‘military usage’ as seen in the 1934 National Firearms Act, weapons used by the military, sawed off shotguns, short barreled rifles, pistols that could be converted to shoulderable carbines, brass knuckles, gravity knives, switchblades and such all were used by the US military during WWI and before and after.
Thomas is by far our best Supreme Court member when it comes to the 2A. I hate that he is already in his 70s because there will be enormous pressure on him to retire if Trump wins. Alito also is pretty good, but in his 70s as well.
Do we really want them being replaced with another Barrett type? Kavanaugh has made some suspect rulings as well. The pressure is going to be massive for alito and Thomas to step down so there can be a gop appointed majority for decades because who knows when another republican can win? Trump is almost in his 80s, and no other republican can appeal to the white working class and in the great lake states like him. It may be a while before another republican wins.
So the question becomes, can he once again convince (or shame) four of the others to join him?
The thing is, very few of those in power in our Republic are 100% comfortable wearing the straight jacket that the anti federalists insisted upon before they agreed to ratify the Constitution of the United States of America. And that most certainly includes some of those currently on the Supreme Court. Long story short, they don’t want to agree that “shall not be infringed” means “shall not be infringed.”
Nowadays we call that straight jacket the Bill of Rights.
And, rest assured, every word of those first ten amendments were as carefully picked as any written by Edgar Allen Poe or T. S. Eliot to mean and convey exactly what the writers meant to say.
So President Joe Biteme is 100% wrong yet again. Not only does the Second Amendment forbid the United States Government from interfering if I choose to buy a cannon, it also, like all the other amendments, is 100% absolute.
Shall not be infringed means shall not be infringed.
https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/shall-not