Nothing of consequence was accomplished today but that your humble scribe, his number one son and son number one’s best mate from high school years – a citizen of Eire, come hither for the holidays for to escape the falling damps Dublin-way – went a-shooting at the range.

Hizzoner not having had our advantages was eased into the employment of weapons short and long. Safety instructions and range rules. The .22 caliber Beretta Neos is a lovely little thing that will only just barely kill the incautious shooter graveyard dead. It was a good start to a grand afternoon.

After that we shot my oldest rifle, an autoloading Sears .22 long rifle purchased for my 15th birthday oh-so-long-ago, and equipped with a four power scope. The combination led us in time towards an H&K USP .45 and an M-1A rifle in .308 Winchester. All the world did stop and listen when the latter barked. Loudly.

There was a lovely young lady there as well, alongside of us. With a pert brown pony tail, Kevlar vest, fast draw holster and speed loading rig. The handcuff holder at her six o’clock assured me that she was a law enforcement agent. Or else the kinkiest woman I’d ever laid eyes on. Either one. Or both.

And at the end of the day, does it really matter?

So.

A right good time was had by all. Which leads me into this learned discussion of the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution. And whether or not it applies to “the people” or to “the militia.” Whatever that might be. There are many wise people there capable of buttressing one’s personal preferences. This one supports mine:

Suppose that a dean announces: “The teacher being ill, class is canceled.” Nothing about the dean’s prefatory phrase, including its truth or falsity, can qualify or modify the operative command. If the teacher called in sick to watch a ball game, the cancellation of the class remains unaffected. If the dean was secretly diverting the teacher to work on a special project, still there will be no class. If someone misunderstood a phone message, and inadvertently misled the dean into thinking the teacher would be absent, the dean’s order is not thereby modified in the least.

The Second Amendment’s grammatical structure is identical, and so are the consequences. Whatever a well regulated militia may be, or even if no such thing exists, the right of the people to keep and bear arms is not to be infringed. What’s more, whether or not such a militia can actually contribute to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms remains unaffected. Indeed, even if it could be proved beyond all doubt that disarming the people is necessary to the security of a free state, still the right of the people to keep and bear arms would remain completely unchanged.

Undoubtedly, new information or changed opinions about the assertion advanced in the preamble might suggest the need to issue a new command. If, for example, the dean discovered that the teacher wasn’t going to be absent after all, he might make a new announcement reversing his earlier decision. Similarly, if the American people came to believe that civilian disarmament laws were necessary to promote public safety, Congress might initiate a repeal of the Second Amendment under the procedures set out in Article V of the Constitution. In both cases, a new command would be needed because the truth or falsity of the preambular assertion cannot alter the meaning of the original, operative command.

Just remember that when it comes to protecting your individual right to life – the most profound right, upon which all others depend – the constabulary can only obliquely contribute. They are not designed to prevent your murder, only to punish it. When the bad man comes, and seconds count, they will be only minutes away.

Here endeth the lesson.