Stephanie Ruehl closed last night with a reality check on the Second Amendment and "a well regulated militia."
"Here is how the Second Amendment puts it. Quote, 'A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.' But what does that really mean? Well, Adrian Fontes is a Democratic candidate for Arizona secretary of state, and a former U.S. Marine marksmanship instructor. And he has taken some time to try and dismantle some of the right-wing Second Amendment lies about the right to bear arms. So for fact's sake, watch this," she said.
"I think there's a lot of people who don't understand what the Second Amendment actually means in context of the whole Constitution. Right? Right. Confusion is, I can just be a militia by myself, and a well regulated militia just means what I want it to mean. That is not true. It's 100 percent not true.
"Here is what it means. 'Congress shall have the power to call for the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress interactions and repel invasions.' The militia in the context of our Constitution is enforcing the laws of the Union. They work for the government. Not against some tyrannical fantasy government that you guys are fetishizing against. That is not what it's supposed to mean. It says so right here.
"It also says 'the Congress shall the power to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia.' That means you get your militia arms from the government. You don't buy them yourself. That is what the Constitution says. Congress provides the rules for the militia. Congress provides the arms for the militia. Congress calls up the militia. You don't just get to be a militia on your own.
"And look at this thing, this is what we had to teach Marines. It's a two-week course, Marines have to go through this every single year to be qualified to shoot with the M-16A2 service rifle. Which is like the AR-15. But an 18-year old in the United States of America, an 18-year-old doesn't have to go through any of that training, can go grab an AR-15, and do damage like they have done, and murder kids in classrooms like they have done. Like they continue to do.
"It's crazy!"
"It is crazy. Adrien Fontes, thank you, thank you for your service, and thank you for that reality check," Ruehl concluded.
