Thom Hartmann: Second amendment was Passed to Protect Slavery

[thomhartmann]

Gun-crazy America is arming up. While Vice President Biden and his gun taskforce think of ways to stem horrific gun violence in America - the shootings and the gun purchases keep piling up. According to the Children’s Defense Fund, nearly 450 children and teenagers have been shot by a gun just since the 113th Congress was sworn in earlier this month. And thanks to the fear mongering going on in the gun community, assault rifles are fling off the shelves around the nation. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, there were 2.2 million gun background checks performed in December, which is more than a 58% increase over the same period in 2011. But I want to tell you something you don't know about the Second Amendment - something that's been lost in the pages of history - that is very crucial to informing today's current gun debate. And that's this: The real reason the Second Amendment was ratified, and why it says "State" instead of "Country" was to preserve the Slave Patrol Militias in the Southern States, which was necessary to get Virginia's vote. Founders Patrick Henry, George Mason, and James Madison were totally clear on that...and we all should be too...Today's Second Amendment is linked to our nation's disturbing history of slavery. In the Beginning, there were the Militias. In the South, they were also called the “Slave Patrols,” and they were regulated by the states.

The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann on RT TV & FSTV "live" 9pm and 11pm check www.thomhartmann.com/tv for local listings

[JustAnotherGen]

1. And since there is no longer slavery

Then 2nd Amendment should be updated to reflect language that removes reference to that.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

2. Thank you Thom Hartmann...

...informative as always. You should be a history teacher. Except that - well - I doubt you'd be allowed to teach the true history of the United States in any classroom.

[pam4water]

3. K&R

[DhhD]

4. This puts a new meaning on the part [free State] as to be free of a union. Seems like the free

State union of states surrendered its free state at Appomattox; making the Amendment nugatory.
Each free State had its own Reconstruction with no Slave Patrols being legal anymore.

[Dokkie]

5. And here is a different spin on it.

[Redfairen]

6. None of this matters. We have a Living Constitution.

Plenty of constitutional scholars have pointed out that the conservative gun rights decisions handed down by the Supreme Court are classic examples of the "Living Constitution." Original intent of the Founding Fathers is irrelevant to what Scalia & Co. wrote in their opinion. They invented an individual right to handguns which had never before existed. Hartmann may be 100% right but the Supreme Court conservatives don't care about that. They got their shot to invent a right and they took it. Who was gonna stop 'em, us?

[freshwest]

7. Hadn't heard this bit of information.

[Danascot]

8. Guns and racists are related?

I'm shocked.

[NoMoreWarNow]

9. Fascinating and important