stanc Wrote:Heh, heh. "Pot calling kettle..." :p
Well, first off, there was only one creator of the Second Amendment (and the rest of the Bill of Rights): James Madison.
As for what contemporaries of Madison thought, instead of cherry picking quotes to support your position, let's look at the gun rights that were actually incorporated into State constitutions before Madison wrote the Bill of Rights.
Delaware: That a well-regulated militia is the proper, natural and safe defence of a free government.
Maryland: That a well-regulated militia is the proper and natural defence of a free government.
Massachusetts: The people have a right to keep and bear arms for the common defence.
New Hampshire: A well regulated militia is the proper, natural, and safe defence of a state.
North Carolina: That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of the State...
Pennsylvania: That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the state...
Vermont: That the people have the right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the State...
Virginia: That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defence of a free state...
Tabulating the results, we have:
3 for the defense of a free State.
3 for defense of the State.
2 for defense of the State and defense of the individual citizen.
Conclusions.
The majority did not place quite the importance upon the "free" State idea that some of you insist has so much significance.
The majority addressed only collective defense (arming the militia for defense of the State, free or not).
Only two -- a small minority -- specified that individual self-defense was a reason for the right to keep and bear arms.
Actually George Mason was the master Drafter of the Bill of rights. Read this Stanc , it is with out any doubt the right to bear Arms was considered an individual right.
http://www.constitution.org/gmason/amd_gmas.htm
17. That the People have a Right to keep and to bear Arms; that a well regulated Militia, composed of the Body of the People, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe Defence of a free State; that Standing Armies in Time of Peace are dangerous to Liberty, and therefore ought to be avoided as far as the Circumstances and Protection of the Community will admit; and that in all Cases, the military should be under strict Subordination to, and governed by the Civil Power.