This is in response to Bruce Hansen’s letter in The Press on April 30, where he attempts to perpetuate the notion that the right to keep and bear arms noted in the Second Amendment was somehow meant to be a collective right, rather than an individual right.

I unfortunately agree with his statement that this controversy will continue in spite of the most recent Supreme Court decision, but only because ignorance of the Bill of Rights and its adoption continues with collectivists like Mr. Hansen.

First, the rights listed in the Bill of Rights belong to the people, rather than to government. Both the Ninth and Tenth Amendments support this concept, and the limited powers of Congress (there are 18 in all) are plainly enumerated in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. Regulating the possession (or even the use of) firearms not being listed among them.

Any thorough study of the Second Amendment will reveal that its origins were rooted in the English Common law right of self-defense. This was undeniably an individual right concept.

From his letter, Mr. Hansen appears ignorant about the founders’ interpretation of the term, “militia.” I would recommend that he read James Madison’s words in: Federalist Papers #46; Richard Henry Lee’s explanation in: Additional Letters From the Federal Farmer 53, 1788; Tench Coxe’s statement in the Penn Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788; Noah Webster’s famous quote from 1787 in: An Examination into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution; and especially Thomas Jefferson’s letter to John Cartwright in 1824 wherein he wrote that “all power is inherent in the people,” that they “may exercise it by themselves,” and that “they have a right and duty to be at all times armed.” We clearly see that militias were composed of the people themselves and viewed primarily as an essential hedge against overreaching federal power.

We should also look at what the second clause of the Second Amendment actually says, not at what it does not say. For example, it does NOT say: “The right of militias, or the right of the people as part of a group, to keep and bear arms … ” If that were the intent, the Founding Fathers would have simply ratified it that way, but they obviously didn’t. Likewise, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, etc., are also not rights or privileges restricted for groups only.

JIM BALLOU

Hayden