What the Bill of Rights is Meant To Do

Mandeville, LA – Exclusive Transcript – The Second Amendment was not directed at the states, it was directed at the Feds.  The First Amendment was directed at the Feds, and the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth.  If you doubt any of this, if there’s one soul out there that doubts this, please read the entire text of Amendment IX and Amendment X.  These were insisted upon by Patrick Henry himself in the Virginia Assembly, just in case he forgot anything and just to make sure and make it abundantly clear: If we left anything out that we want to be protected from by you, we’re reserving all those powers, all of them. Check out the rest in today’s transcript…

 

Begin Mike Church Show Transcript

Mike:  On behalf of the gentleman that just called, two things.  One, [mocking] “If you don’t want to live under the Constitution, we’re gonna kick your butt out of the Union.  We ought to be able to kick you out.  The Second Amendment is part of the Constitution.  You ain’t allowed to ban no damn guns.  You ain’t allowed to tell anything about guns.  We all know it.  Why you out there talking about this, Mr. Church?  I’m never listening again.”  I’m embellishing a little bit.  He never said that.  It’s more fun to do it this way, trust me.

Two things, one, my friend Kevin Gutzman who wrote the book, the aforementioned James Madison and the Making of America, explains what just transpired between myself and the caller thus: It is always hard to educate anyone to believe that there are some instances in which the U.S. Constitution, correctly read, does not yield the outcome they’d prefer.  See: John in Virginia.  Two, he didn’t believe me that the states that had just ratified the Constitution were mortified of what it was going to do to them so they demanded amendments to protect themselves from the federal government.  They weren’t granting the new government any more powers.  That’s just ridiculous.  We have this in writing.  If you don’t believe me, here it is in writing.  This is the preamble to what you know as the Bill of Rights, to the twelve amendments that were sent back to the states for ratification after the first Congress had debated over them, written them down and then agreed.

[reading]

Congress of the United States, begun and held at the City of New York, on Wednesday, the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred eight-nine: The Conventions of a number of the States having, at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of Its powers, [Mike: The it is with a capital I. That’s done intentionally. They’re speaking of the Constitution, meaning of the new congress, of the new general government. They’re not talking about themselves. They’re talking about the new edifice.] that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: [Mike: Who are they restricting, themselves? Are you insane? They are restricting the new federal government.] And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz. [Mike: If you ever see viz in writing, that basically means in Latin “that is” or “that is to say.” It’s an abbreviation.] Articles in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.

[end reading]

Mike:  There it is in writing.  The Second Amendment was not directed at the states, it was directed at the Feds.  The First Amendment was directed at the Feds, and the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth.  If you doubt any of this, if there’s one soul out there that doubts this, please read the entire text of Amendment IX and Amendment X.  These were insisted upon by Patrick Henry himself in the Virginia Assembly, just in case he forgot anything and just to make sure and make it abundantly clear: If we left anything out that we want to be protected from by you, we’re reserving all those powers, all of them.  Thus, Amendment IX reads like this:

[reading]

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X: 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.

[end reading]

Mike:  This was Henry and George Mason who led the charge in the Virginia Assembly to draft the amendments, send them to James Madison, their representative in the Congress, and get them in front of the Congress, get them written, get them sent back for ratification.  I have read all the available records of the meeting in the Virginia Legislature which began in late November 1788 at the behest of Mr. Henry and for the sole and explicit purpose of undoing what was just done in June, which was ratifying the Constitution.  Henry knew that he couldn’t get Virginia to secede that early.  Being a good Virginian and having lost fair and square in a vote, knew that his only recourse was to use Article V of the new Constitution and use it against Jimmy Madison.  That’s what he called him, little Jimmy Madison.  He used it against Jimmy Madison and his Federalist buddies to provide amendments that would serve as a bulkhead against abuses that he feared.  Boy, was he correct.  He usually was.


End Mike Church Show Transcript