Smallest Minority and Clayton Cramer

Got some time to kill? Why not head over to Smallest Minority and check out the debate raging between blogger Kevin and guest voice Alex. The debate begins here with Kevin's question

"What did the Second Amendment mean when it was ratified, and does it matter today?"

Frankly, Alex is being eviscerated by Kevin's cogent arguments. Be sure to check out the comments too for some worthwhile reading. I'm astonished by the furore over the "meaning" of the 2nd amendment. It seems pretty clear to me- "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." Can it get any more simple? The problem seems to be that "militia" and "the people" seem to get confused. I can't see how- the sentence breaks down very simply into two parts- in the first it says that a militia is required for the security of the state therefore THE PEOPLE have the right to keep arms. The reason being that the militia is drawn from "the people". Really, I don't understand the confusion. I do see that some people do not like guns and so they will go through whatever semantic gymnastics they can to get read they want to read.

On a related topic- Kevin references one of Cramer's books- be sure to check out Clayton Cramer's blog.First, he notes the arrogance of Bush-haters ("oh, he reads books?") and then highlights a fantastic report of National Guardsmen in Iraq-

Dozens of teams made up of two U.S. soldiers and five Iraqi policemen systematically search each and every home. A sniper team covers the rooftops, along with the Apaches. We move tactically, weapons raised and ready, down the roads, entering and clearing each home.

Most people are friendly, calm and almost welcoming. While we might have to ram open the door of one home, the next could welcome us inside and offer tea. One team, U.S. soldiers included, emerges from a home munching fresh, warm flat bread.

Cramer makes a good point about the advantage of National Guardsmen doing this sort of duty in Iraq (switching from point of the spear action one moment to goodwill the next).