"Why do you need an AR15?"

[NugginFutz]

What other authors? http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/fou...of-rights/

Stan,

You disappoint me. The source you cite is only one of several available.

Try this one:

Article Details:
8 Things You Should Know About the Bill of Rights

Year Published
2015

URL
http://www.history.com/news/history-list...-of-rights

Access Date
March 03, 2018

...
While drafting the Bill of Rights, James Madison drew heavily on the Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason and ratified shortly before the Constitution of Virginia in June 1776. Considered the first constitutional protection of individual rights, it also provided a blueprint for the U.S. Declaration of Independence and France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen....

And this one...

SEARCH LAWS

WHO WROTE THE BILL OF RIGHTS?

URL
https://constitution.laws.com/who-wrote-...-of-rights

Who Wrote the Bill of Rights?
When posed with the question ‘Who Wrote the Bill of Rights?’ the answer may prove to be fairly ambiguous in its delivery; although historians vary with regard to their respective responses to this question, George Mason and James Madison are considered to be amongst the 2 primary candidates with regard to the authorship of the Bill of Rights.

James Madison: Who Wrote the Bill of Rights?
James Madison – alongside of George Mason – is credited with both the creation, as well as the conception of the Bill of Rights; as a result of his notice of the absence of a Constitutional Clause providing a system for both the amendment and adjustment of the original text, a clause was subsequently created rectifying these concerns – the actions of James Madison resulted in the proposal of the Bill of Rights in 1789, as well as its subsequent ratification in 1791.

George Mason: Who Wrote the Bill of Rights?
George Mason was a delegate from the state of Virginia, who is credited alongside James Madison with the passing – and subsequent creation – of the Bill of Rights; Mason is noted for his refusal to sign the Constitution. George Mason considered the fact that the Constitution lacked a clause that allowed for the passing of amendments, the addition of this clause would become the Bill of Rights.

Further reading within the same site reveals the following legal analysis of the 2nd Amendment (emphasis mine):

2nd Amendment

Date Proposed: September, 25th 1789
Date Ratified: December 15th, 1791
Contents of the Amendment: The right to bear arms in a lawful manner with regard to self-protection; firearms covered under the 2nd Amendment do not address service within the Militia.

Madison, himself, offered insight into what he originally intended Article 2 to mean when he spoke to the First Congress and introduced the Bill of Rights. There, he states the following:

"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country; but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person."

This initial draft clearly shows the two concepts of individual rights to bear arms and state militias receiving separate and independent attention.

The Federalist Papers lend further insight into the minds of the people, during that time. Of particular noteworthiness is Federalist Paper 46, written by James Madison, which offer a more detailed look into the views regarding the arming of the citizens of a country which had just won its liberty from oppressive rule.

Within 46, it becomes apparent that Madison was concerned with the Federal Government becoming too much like the English Monarchy it had just replaced. In it, he calculates what he sees as the size of a Federal Army needed to protect the country from foreign aggressors, and still remaining small enough (30,000 soldiers) so as not to threaten the security of the individual states. In order to protect the states from being overpowered by the Federal Government, the states were to be allowed a combined militia of 500,000 people.

The theme that the people need to safeguard themselves from an oppressive government runs through these documents, repeatedly.

Stan, I am genuinely surprised to see you have taken the Devil's Advocacy to the level you have. Have you really become that jaded?