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> "No freeman shall be debarred the use of arms [within his own land or tenements]" -Thomas Jefferson's proposal of language to add to the Virginia Constitution A proposal which was rejected AFAIK, and so all the others around him thought it inappropriate. What was actually passed: > That a well-regulated Militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural and safe defence of a free State; that Standing Armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that, in all cases, the military should be under strict subordination to and governed by the civil power. No mention of individual rights to "keep and bear arms". In the recorded debate there was no mention in the Virginia debates of individuals carrying arms, but rather the debate was in the context of whether the government would provide arms for the militia. Also, the phrase "bear arms" was, grammatically in that time period, generally used to refer to military soldiers having weapons, not civilians. It is inappropriate to take the words individually, but rather the phrase must be taken as a whole. |