John Massaro
Second Amendment commentary and case law are incorrect. But unfortunately, they are relied upon by today's scholars and jurists. However, this book, written in “plain English” instead of the legalese that many people find unappealing about books pertaining to legal subjects, takes the bold step of disproving these incorrect authorities on the most controversial and puzzling provision of the United States Constitution, and it meets that challenge.
While other books on the Second Amendment rely largely on incorrect commentary and case law, this book uses credible and irrefutable documentary evidence to uncover the substance of the Second Amendment. By proving that Second Amendment commentary and case law are incorrect, this book will become both the preeminent treatise on the Second Amendment and a landmark book in the field of Constitutional law. And while gun control has been a highly controversial issue for a long time, the debate on gun control has been improperly bifurcated into what is good public policy and what is Constitutional. This book eliminates the Constitutional component of that debate so that it can be focused solely on what is good public policy.
Other books written on the Second Amendment propose incorrect theories or attempt to reconcile its two supposed “clauses”. However, this book is the best book ever written on the Second Amendment because it does what no other book has ever done. It uncovers, by means of documentary evidence instead of mere argument, the true meanings of the terms “A well regulated Militia”, “the people”, “keep”, and “bear Arms”.
This book is current right up to the 2008 Supreme Court case of District of Columbia v. Heller, and the information contained in this book forms the foundation of what a correct determination of that case would be.
John Massaro has a bachelor of science degree in physical education and a juris doctorate from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, and a master of arts degree in liberal studies with an accent in health from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. His two main interests are football and public issues.
His experience as a football coach includes four years as an assistant coach at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and tenures at Hauppauge High School, Harborfields High School, Newfield High School, Centereach High School, and Kings Park High School on Long Island.
John is also the writer and the editor of SoapboxWeekly.com, which provides perspective on public issues and sports. His other books include The Total Home Workout and Super Facts of the Super Bowl.
In addition, John is a New York State-certified physical education and health teacher. He taught physical education and health at Newfield High School and also worked for his family's manufacturing business.
CHAPTER 1. THE STARTING POINT OF OUR DISCUSSION
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is unique in American law in that virtually all of the case law and virtually all of the commentary on the subject are wrong. The objective of this book is to prove that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of the general populace to store weapons and render military service as the Organized State Militia that is today known as the National Guard. This is a bold objective, because the premise of this book runs counter to virtually all of the case law and virtually all of the commentary on the subject.
What makes this book different from all others that have been written about the Second Amendment is that it does not adhere to false theories and it does not attempt the futile task of trying to reconcile the two “clauses” of the Second Amendment. Instead, this book relies on facts and documentary evidence to prove what the Second Amendment really means.
In order to prove what the Second Amendment really means, this book will prove four premises about the Second Amendment that until now have been only suggested in part but have never actually been proven. This book will prove that the term “A well regulated Militia” refers to the National Guard and not to private individuals who are proficient in the use of weapons; that the term “people” refers to the general populace and not to individuals; that the term “keep” refers to the general populace's storage of weapons and not to personal possession of weapons; and that the term “bear arms” means “render military service” and not “carry weapons”.
It should be understood that despite all of the evidence and facts upon which this book is based, there will still be some people who hold a view of the Second Amendment that is diametrically opposed to the one proven by the book. The objective of this book is not to convince those people with a bunker mentality that there is no individual right that is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to possess and carry weapons or there is no state right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to maintain a Militia. Instead, the aim of this book is to reach those people who are not sure about the Second Amendment and those people who might have a contrary position but are willing to listen to evidence and arguments that are not only reasonable but are also irrefutable because they are backed up by facts and the documentary record.
SCOPE OF THE BOOK
The only thing that this book is about is the Second Amendment. This book is not a discussion about gun control or public policy. It is simply an explanation of what the Second Amendment says and means.
In addition, this book is not about whether or not there is a right of an individual in the Constitution outside the Second Amendment (and, as we will later see, outside the Second Amendment as incorporated through the Fourteenth Amendment) to possess and carry weapons. For example, the Ninth Amendment states
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. [468: p. 26]
And the Tenth Amendment states
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. [468: p. 26]
Arguments about whether or not the Ninth Amendment, the Tenth Amendment, or any other part of the Constitution outside the Second Amendment guarantees an individual a right to possess and carry weapons are a subject for another book.
However, although this book is not about gun control, it does have important implications for the debate on gun control, which has long been dichotomized into policy and law. One part of the debate has focused on what, if any, gun-control laws would be good policy. But the other part of the debate has focused on the extent to which guns can be regulated without violating a supposed individual Second Amendment right to possess and carry weapons. However, by proving that the Second Amendment does not guarantee any individual right to possess and carry weapons, this book can move the debate on gun control out of its erroneous context of Constitutional law and leave it solely in its correct place within the realm of public policy. Thus, we can focus the debate on exclusively what laws would be in the public interest without worrying that a law that might be good policy might be in violation of the Second Amendment.
