
Armed in America
A History of Gun Rights from Colonial Militias to Concealed Carry
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Narrated by:
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Timothy Andrés Pabon
About this listen
This accessible legal history describes the way in which the right to bear arms was interpreted throughout most of American history and shows that today's gun-rights advocates have drastically departed from the long-held interpretation of the Second Amendment.
This illuminating study traces the transformation of the right to arms from its inception in English and colonial American law to today's impassioned gun-control debate. As historian and legal scholar Patrick J. Charles shows, what the right to arms means to Americans, as well as what it legally protects, has changed drastically since its first appearance in the 1689 Declaration of Rights.
Armed in America explores how and why the right to arms transformed at different points in history. The right was initially meant to serve as a parliamentary right of resistance, yet by the ratification of the Second Amendment in 1791 the right had become indispensably intertwined with civic republicanism. As the United States progressed into the 19th century the right continued to change - this time away from civic republicanism and towards the individual-right understanding that is known today, albeit with the important caveat that the right could be severely restricted by the government's police power.
Throughout the 20th century this understanding of the right remained the predominant view. But working behind the scenes was the beginnings of the gun-rights movement - a movement that was started in the early 20th century through the collective efforts of sporting magazine editors and was eventually commandeered by the National Rifle Association to become the gun-rights movement known today.
Listeners looking to sort through the shrill rhetoric surrounding the current gun debate and arrive at an informed understanding of the legal and historical development of the right to arms will find this book to be an invaluable resource.
©2018 Patrick J. Charles (P)2018 Brilliance Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Well researched work/thinly veiled propaganda
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Content: credible, thoroughly research based indictment of tortured understanding of second amendment, which has resulted in intolerably lax gun uncontrol laws.
Methodology: beautifully illustrates legal scholars approach to understanding f this vexing problem.
Malinterpretation of the 2nd amendment
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Henry II, just after John I (Robin Hood Fame) was a tyrant. His son decreed EVERY Englishman be Armed to Keep the Peace. No matter his station, Noble or Commoner, he had to have some sort of weapon.
Sir William Blackstone Commentaries On English Law.
Volume 1: On The Rights Of The People.
Chapter 13: On Maritime And Military Law.
Edward I made it Law.
Blackstone went so far as to say that Disarming a population is the same as enslaving them.
Volume 2: Of The Rights Of Things.
Chapter 27: Of Prerogatives And Forfeiture.
Good book to start a conversation with an Anti-2A
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waste of time
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This may seem like petty pedantry, but if you're going to boast on how factually correct your book is (especially after saying that most of the commentary in the Heller case was incorrect), you shouldn't have such a glaring mistake in the next chapter. While I'm sure there are some great points in the book, I do not have the desire to fact check each and every one of this author's claims since that defeats the purpose of this book's intended aim. A shame, too, as I did enjoy the narrarator's performance.
Thank goodness for Audible's return policy.
Incorrect Facts = Refund at Chapter 2
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liberalism
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Communist propaganda made to look neutral.
Leftist propaganda
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