December 15, 1791

On December 15, 1791, the new United States of America adopted the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, confirming the fundamental rights of its citizens. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, speech, and the press, and the rights of peaceful assembly and petition. Other amendments guarantee the rights of the people to form a "well-regulated militia," to keep and bear arms, the rights to private property, fair treatment for accused criminals, protection from unreasonable search and seizure, freedom from self-incrimination, a speedy and impartial jury trial, and representation by counsel. [...]

And to the credit of the writers, it remains one of the most influential documents ever produced.

However, not to quibble with the description (which is a backhanded way of saying "I have a quibble with the description") but the Second Amendment doesn't guarantee the right of the people to form a well-regulated militia--it states that because a well-regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms was not to be infringed. And, despite arguments to the contrary, "people" means the same in the Second Amendment as it does everywhere else in the document--persons as individuals, whether they are acting in concert with other people or not.
posted by Terry at 10:47:00 AM