Americans And Their Guns (Pt. 1)

In the light of the seemingly-endless round of mass shootings in the United States, people around the world must wonder why Americans have guns and why they have the right to own guns. The answer lies in history.

America was always a frontier country, and even when cities grew up the frontier continued to expand. Before there was a national army, and before the Revolution (1775— 1783) , the colonies had militias, or volunteer military forces. The militia was expected to protect the colony, especially from the Indians who often fought the colonists over the whites’ expansion into Indian territory. Militiamen seldom had uniforms, and were required to supply their own arms. Thus began the tradition of the citizen-soldier; the man who put down his plow and took up his weapon to defend the colony. A special group of militia volunteers were called “Minutemen” and they were the first responders to any threat. Their task was to be ready to form up and engage the enemy at short notice in advance of the rest of the militia.

Although the Continental Army of General George Washington did have regular troops who faced the British and their allies during the Revolution, the militia played an important role in the war, particularly in the area of irregular warfare, a form of conflict that was promoted in China by Mao Zedong 150 years later.

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution adopted on December 15, 1791 states: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

While some see the Second Amendment as clear-cut and self-explanatory, the question has been brought before American courts almost from the beginning of the nation. The question today is do the American people have the right to own weapons based on the Second Amendment? And while a professional army now protects the nation, and the militia is a thing of history, guns are still very much the forefront of American life, right up until the 21st century.

The debate now rages about the use and abuse of this right. It has gone on for decades, but has now taken center stage in the era of senseless and repeated mass shootings in the US.

Photo: Gun Show (Houston) M&R Glasgow, Creative Commons via flickr