Article 17 was an extention to the Article 1 right
Reader comment on: Clue for the Court?

Submitted by jcr, Nov 27, 2007 15:41

John Adams, author of the Massachusettes Constitution, and its included Declaration of Rights, wrote in Article 1: "... the right of ... defending their lives and liberties; that of ... protecting property; ... that of seeking and obtaining their safety ...". It is unthinkable that he wrote this while assuming that the state goverment had the authority to take away the arms necessary for these purposes. His Article 17 extended the assumed right. He was saying the the people even had the right to arms when gathered together in a militia -- a much bigger threat to governments.

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Other reader comments on this article

Title	By	Date
How about Maine's State Constitution? [60 words]	isirajo	Nov 27, 2007 20:54
⇒ Article 17 was an extention to the Article 1 right [98 words]	jcr	Nov 27, 2007 15:41
Putting the 2nd Amendment First [30 words]	Wendy Weinbaum	Nov 27, 2007 13:20
Clue for the court,or clueless on the Constitution? [49 words]	terry albertson	Nov 27, 2007 09:59
federalist's papers? [168 words]	scott cockrell	Nov 27, 2007 04:35
Clue for the Court [50 words]	John Ebanks	Nov 26, 2007 23:04
The Massachusetts Constitution Isn't The U.S. Constitution [303 words]	Clayton E. Cramer	Nov 26, 2007 13:32
it's so easy it's hard... [38 words]	brokenbarrel	Nov 26, 2007 12:34
Deliberately different. [215 words]	Professor Joseph Olson	Nov 26, 2007 12:22
clue for the court [71 words]	chuck higgins	Nov 26, 2007 08:53

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