Gun Control & RKBA
In reply to the discussion: Which Americans support the Second Amendment? The answer depends on whether whites or blacks have th [View all]jimmy the one
(2,708 posts)dscntnt: The BoR was required by the People in order to accept the new government because many people were rightly suspicious of a new federal government.
You mean mainly the writers of the constitution & political figures, since approx 98% of americans could not even vote, nor did vote for geo washington even.
dscntnt: You are wrong in that The People were not given any rights by the Bill of Rights. The BoR doesn't create or bestow a right.
The bill of rights was both a restriction on congress & a guarantee of individual rights (in 2nA case, the right to belong to a well regulated militia, right as a duty, as per the 1688 british have arms decree):
encyclopedia britannica: Bill of Rights, in the United States, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which were adopted as a single unit on Dec 15, 1791, and which constitute a collection of mutually reinforcing guarantees of individual rights and of limitations on federal and state governments. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/503541/Bill-of-Rights
wiki: The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed to assuage the fears of Anti-Federalists who had opposed Constitutional ratification, these amendments guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the states and the public. http://www.democraticunderground.com/1172167980
Wm Rawle, 1829, A view of the constitution, all caps in link, some not my emphasis: CHAPTER X. OF THE RESTRICTIONS ON THE POWERS OF CONGRESS AND ON THE EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIAL AUTHORITIES RESTRICTIONS ON THE POWERS OF STATES AND SECURITY TO THE RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS
Of the amendments already adopted, the eight first in order fall within the class of restrictions on the legislative power, some of which would have been implied, some are original, and all are highly valuable. Some are also to be considered as restrictions on the judicial power.
The constitutions of some of the states contain bills of rights; others do not. A declaration of rights, therefore, properly finds a place in the general Constitution, where it equalizes all and binds all . http://www.constitution.org/wr/rawle_10.htm