A federal judge on Monday blocked California from enforcing a state law requiring new semiautomatic handguns to have certain safety features, finding it violates the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The Bruen decision touched on that topic of historical interpretation. It stated that post 1860s historical interpretations of the 2A were not reliable indicators of the meaning of the text because the of the pro slavery revisionism of the Constitution, which among other things redefined that amendment to not apply to ‘the people’ as a means of insuring the Black Americans couldn’t be armed.
As for the historical context of ‘well regulated milita’ at the time it was written it was interpreted as to mean a militia (a force comprised of the regular people) held to a standard of preparedness. Able bodied men were expected to maintain a musket or rifle should there be a need to defend the land. Militia organizers were tasked with the duty of ensuring these firearms were functional if they were to be needed. If an individual was to say have a rustied musket they’d be expected to clean it to bring it into a serviceable state.
The Bruen decision touched on that topic of historical interpretation. It stated that post 1860s historical interpretations of the 2A were not reliable indicators of the meaning of the text because the of the pro slavery revisionism of the Constitution, which among other things redefined that amendment to not apply to ‘the people’ as a means of insuring the Black Americans couldn’t be armed.
As for the historical context of ‘well regulated milita’ at the time it was written it was interpreted as to mean a militia (a force comprised of the regular people) held to a standard of preparedness. Able bodied men were expected to maintain a musket or rifle should there be a need to defend the land. Militia organizers were tasked with the duty of ensuring these firearms were functional if they were to be needed. If an individual was to say have a rustied musket they’d be expected to clean it to bring it into a serviceable state.