Now, before anyone thinks I'm advocating/not advocating that some people with felonies or mental disabilities should own guns, let me just say Put this into perspective: This is the Framers' intent regarding the Second Amendment. These other aspects of banning certain people create assent/dissent on their own merits of constitutionality. I do not wish to enter into a debate on these aspects. I maintain my own views on this aspect of the Second Amendment. I will say this: not all crimes are the same, even though they may be coded the same. Mental illness is a medical problem and can be treated effectively, to my knowledge. Given this exhaustive series of discussions, I have concluded that I believe that these individuals should have this fundamental right closely examined so that it can be exercised individually on their own merit, through a full review, and then a decision rendered, on based on the evidence collected, whether they should have this right restored, or not. Some states have this possibility for these people, via a codified law, to ask the court to make a decision. That's all I'll say on this aspect. Please respect the confidentiality of my opinions to this extent. I will show the same courtesy to everyone. Literally all the testimony from the Founding Fathers shows that there was consensus as to the original intent and original meaning of the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment was written to keep power in the hands of the people. Its goal was to ensure that everyone could take up arms and join other peoples to fight tyrants, invaders, or unjustified insurrections. Its meaning was that the government could not infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms ... middle of paper ... This particular right, the 2nd Amendment, has been distorted over the years to mean all except the right of individuals to bear arms. The term “well regulated” is a perfect example of misinterpretation. As I said during the seminar, when we read a text that is not written today, we must read it using the lexicon of the time, the meaning of the words, the structure, the intention original. At the time of its writing, the word regulated was synonymous with provisioned. All settlers were militiamen, and in many states this is still true today. Would the Framers add a Bill of Rights to the Constitution to protect the sovereign? No way. The first 10 amendments clearly state the rights of the people and not those of governments, and these rights take precedence over those of the government because they are inalienable. “The Natural Rights of Man” (1788, Thomas Paine) towards the tyranny of government.