"Bill McKee" wrote in message
link.net...
None of those items are in the constitution!
The 2nd amendment is the only one that is even close, and it does not
specify or limit type of arms.


Huh? That's my precise point. If you believe that the constitution must be
interpreted on a literal word-for-word basis, then states can have slavery
if they wish (because the constitution does not expressly prohibit it),
states can prevent women and blacks from voting (because the constitution
does not expressly prohibit it), and the government has no right to regulate
drug sales (because the constitution does not expressly provide for it). If
the intent of the framers is so important, the surely the "arms" mentioned
in the 2nd amendment does not include repeating pistols and automatic rifles
because the framers did not know of such things and could not possibly have
intended them to be included in the definition of "arms."

Peter Aitken