Intent and Ornament
A Manifesto on Guns, Symbolism and Ornamentation
Excerpt from Part I (full text pending publication)
“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.”
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution declares the right of citizens to bear arms. However, it does not clarify the true intention of the amendment and has been under heavy debate for that very reason. Gun rights allies assert that the true and just reading of the bill is that it protects the individual’s right to bear arms like the freedom of speech or religion. Others assert that the right concerns only to collective bodies (the military, police, National Guard, etc.) and not to individuals.
Upon first glance the Second Amendment is indeed an amendment allowing for power to remain with the people...