2nd Amendment Protected Slavery

As Hollywood puts slavery back in the American consciousness and the reaction to the Newtown, Conn., shootings has the Second Amendment on the front burner, an author and talk-show host links the two in an intriguing way.

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" The Second Amendment was Ratified to Preserve Slavery, " reads the headline over a piece by Thom Hartmann posted Tuesday on Truthout, a site that "works to spark action by revealing systemic injustice and providing a platform for transformative ideas, through in-depth investigative reporting and critical analysis."

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It begins, "The real reason the Second Amendment was ratified, and why it says 'State' instead of 'Country' (the Framers knew the difference — see the 10th Amendment), was to preserve the slave patrol militias in the southern states, which was necessary to get Virginia's vote. Founders Patrick Henry, George Mason, and James Madison were totally clear on that . . . and we all should be too.

"In the beginning, there were the militias. In the South, they were also called the 'slave patrols,' and they were regulated by the states.

"In Georgia, for example, a generation before the American Revolution, laws were passed in 1755 and 1757 that required all plantation owners or their male white employees to be members of the Georgia Militia, and for those armed militia members to make monthly inspections of the quarters of all slaves in the state. The law defined which counties had which armed militias and even required armed militia members to keep a keen eye out for slaves who may be planning uprisings.

". . . So Madison, who had (at [Thomas] Jefferson's insistence) already begun to prepare proposed amendments to the Constitution, changed his first draft of one that addressed the militia issue to make sure it was unambiguous that the southern states could maintain their slave patrol militias.

"His first draft for what became the Second Amendment had said: 'The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed, and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country [emphasis mine]: but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms, shall be compelled to render military service in person.'

"But Henry, Mason and others wanted southern states to preserve their slave-patrol militias independent of the federal government. So Madison changed the word 'country' to the word 'state,' and redrafted the Second Amendment into today's form:

" 'A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State [emphasis mine], the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.' . . . "

Journalist Charles E. Cobb Jr., former field secretary of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists, is writing a book that argues that "without the armed protection given to civil rights workers by farmers and others, there would have been a lot more deaths" during the civil rights movement, he told Journal-isms by telephone Wednesday. Still, Cobb favors gun control, saying, "What I think is essential is registration."

Asked about the coverage of today's gun debate, Cobb said, "I wish there were more discussion about the culture of guns in the United States, in this kind of society. Guns are romanticized, and you don't hear anything about black resistance, like slave rebellions. . . . This is a frontier society, [and] in that it can't be compared to France or England or Germany," as is often done when gun violence is discussed.

Cobb said that when the Constitution was written, there were two major strands of concern: African slave rebellions and Indian attacks. "The larger question is who gets away with killing people," he added. "Blacks never get away with it. Minorities never get away with it." Cobb's book, "This Nonviolent Stuff Will Get You Killed," is due from Basic Books next year.

A USA Today/Gallup Poll released Monday showed that the number of whites wanting stricter gun laws increased from 23 percent a year ago to 34 percent this month, but rose more sharply — from 32 percent to 49 percent — among nonwhites .

" Hollywood and the video game industry received scant attention Wednesday when President Barack Obama unveiled sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence [ video] in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting , " Jake Coyle reported Wednesday for the Associated Press.

"The White House pressed most forcefully for a reluctant Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

"No connection was suggested between bloody entertainment fictions and real-life violence. Instead, the White House is calling on research on the effect of media and video games on gun violence.

"Among the 23 executive measures signed Wednesday by Obama is a directive to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and scientific agencies to conduct research into the causes and prevention of gun violence. The order specifically cited 'investigating the relationship between video games, media images and violence.'

"The measure meant that media would not be exempt from conversations about violence, but it also suggested the White House would not make Hollywood, television networks and video game makers a central part of the discussion. It's a relative footnote in the White House's broad, multi-point plan, and Obama did not mention violence in media in his remarks Wednesday. . . . "

Portions of New York's new gun control law (Senate Bill 2230/Assembly Bill 2388), adopted by the legislature and signed by Cuomo this week, will require journalists and other citizens to seek special permission from either local public officials or the courts in order to access the records, which until now had been available without such restrictions.

"The provisions were included in the legislation after a suburban New York City newspaper and its website, as part of its coverage in the aftermath of the December 14 school shooting in nearby Newtown, Connecticut, published the names and addresses of gun permit holders in two Lower Hudson Valley counties. The publication of the names and addresses provoked the ire of some New York state lawmakers who believed it violated gun permit owners¹ rights to privacy and security.

" 'This is clearly a wild overreaction to the decision to publish the names,' said Mike Cavender, RTDNA Executive Director. 'Closing off public records is an excessive and inappropriate response, and we respectfully urge Governor Cuomo and New York legislators to restore the public¹s access to this information.'

"That stated, RTDNA believes the controversy could be used as a catalyst for dialog to determine ways to balance the rights of people to access important public information and the obligation of journalists to report on stories of vital interest in a responsible way. . . ."

The Journal News, the newspaper that published the names and addresses of the permit holders, quoted Janet Hasson, president and publisher of the Journal News Media Group. " We are disappointed with the broad nature of several exemptions in the law and lack of opportunity for any reasonable period for public comment or discussion, " she said, referring to the provisions that would shield information about gun-permit holders. "We are reviewing the law and the impact it might have on publication of permit data in the future."

David Bauder, Associated Press: A Disconnect Between Violence And TV

Charles M. Blow, New York Times: Revolutionary Language

Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post: Three strikes for the NRA

David Carr, New York Times: Guns, Maps and Data That Disturb

Lewis W. Diuguid, Kansas City Star: We should oppose efforts to liberalize gun laws