I just ran across this article while researching a similar point.
It seems that the second amendment to the constitution was not meant for hunting, contrary to what many anti-gunners may lead one to believe.
Mason’s original draft actually contained a substantial property requirement for legislators, [92] and did not recognize a "right" to freedom of religion. Instead, it acknowledged a "toleration of the exercise of religion," [93] along the lines of the British Toleration Act which, for practical purposes, exempted certain faiths from the ban on nonestablishment churches. [94] Only the intervention of the novice legislator James Madison enabled an American president later to boast, "It is now no [p.28] more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights." [95]
Virginia’s rejection of Thomas Jefferson’s draft document, with its Enlightenment approach, was indicative of the Virginia gentry’s philosophical orientation. Jefferson’s draft would have extended the franchise to any taxpayer, divided state lands among the landless citizens, ended importation of slaves, and banned the establishment of religion. [96] His proposal contained no mention of the militia or its role in a republic, but instead included an individual right to arms: "No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms." [97]
The contrast between Mason’s and Jefferson’s proposals reflected a correlation that would be seen in later efforts by other states. Constitutions that maintained the Classical Republican link between land ownership and electoral participation also stressed the ideal of a citizen militia. On the other hand, constitutions that accepted the Enlightenment concept of near- universal manhood suffrage largely ignored the militia ideal and instead stressed an individual right to arms.
Pennsylvania adopted a bill of rights only a few months after Virginia, but its political situation was nearly the opposite of the one in Mason’s state. The Pennsylvania convention was dominated by a radical coalition whose political base consisted of small farmers in the western part of the state and "mechanics," or skilled tradesmen, in Philadelphia. Its product was decidedly Jeffersonian in nature, extending the franchise to any taxpayer over the age of twenty-one, and giving a greater scope to individual rights. [98] John Adams later would note that Pennsylvania’s "bill of rights [was] almost verbatim from that [p.29] of Virginia." [99] Respecting the militia issue, however, the word "almost" is one that bears emphasis because Pennsylvania clearly departed from the Virginia approach by deleting the Virginia reference to well-regulated militias and by adding a new recognition "[t]hat the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State." [100]
In states in which a relatively even split between liberal and conservative elements existed, efforts were made to reconcile the diverging views on the nature of the militia. The Massachusetts Constitution, whose chief author was John Adams, contained an elaborate provision for the democratic election of militia officers. Captains and subalterns were to be elected by their companies; higher officers were to be elected by their subordinates; major generals were to be appointed by the legislature. [101] In the bill of rights, Adams chose an unusual mode of trying to compromise the arms verses militia issue. He took the language of the Pennsylvania convention, expanded it by recognizing for the first time a right to "keep" as well as to "bear" arms, but then qualified the right by recognizing it only with regard to "the common defense." [102]
The whole point to the second amendment was the concept that every citizen had a duty to bear arms for the nation and that they had to provide their own. That can’t be done if you don’t have them.
The character of Adams’ work was indicative of his status as one of the premier attorneys in the colonies. With far greater precision than is typical in the constitutional process, he sought not only to ensure the breadth of the right he desired, but also to fix its boundaries. His efforts, however, were not fully appreciated by his fellow Massachusetts citizens, who did not share his fear of the common people. A meeting of the citizens of Williamsburg objected to the language, noting that "we deem it an essential privilege to keep Arms in our Houses for Our own Defense" and that the qualifier might be read to allow government to "Confine all the fire Arms to some publick Magazine." [105] Likewise, in Northampton, an objection was raised that the right to keep and bear arms "is not expressed with that ample and manly openess and latitude which the importance of the right merits" and should be changed to "[t]he people have a right to keep and bear arms, as well, for their Own as the Common defence."
