well regulated

[James A. Landau]

It is without intent of making even a quarter-assed political statement on
the subject of gun control that I state a wish that the Founding Fathers had
devoted a little more time to making the wording of the Second Amendment less
vague.  Had they done so, we might have been spared a good deal of
thunderation on this issue.

Having heard people on both sides of the gun-control issue say "the Second
Amendment clearly states...", I can claim to be avoiding rather than making a
political statement by quoting the old saying, "The Devil can quote
Scripture".

Seriously, here is a possible meaning of "well-regulated militia."  During
the Revolutionary War, with the sole exception of the Minutemen at Concord
and Breed's alias Bunker Hill, colonial militia could be counted on to do
only one thing:  run away every time they faced the Redcoats.  Finally Daniel
Morgan (of Morgan's Rifles fame) found a way to get some use out of the
militia.  At the Battle of Cowpens Morgan lined up his militia.  The British
attacked, the militia as Morgan intended ran, and the British,  chasing the
militia, found themselves in a trap manned by the very good professional
soldiers known as "Continentals".  Something like 90% of the Redcoats were
either killed or captured.  Another Colonial general named Nathanael Greene
liked the trick so much that he tried it not just once but
twice---unfortunately against better British generals; both battles were
draws.

Skip forward to the US Congress that was debating the Bill of Rights.  There
must have been some discussion about how good, or how bad,  the militia had
been in the Revolutionary War.  Did someone suggest that a "well-regulated
militia" (whatever that means) could do a better job against the Redcoats?

           - Jim Landau