Why the Second Amendment? It's all about slavery and the inalienable right of slaveholders to be ever vigilant to put down slave uprisings.

The Constitution of United States of America 1789 Amendment II reads, "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."

What it the founders of the Constitution mean by "Militia?" At the time when our forefathers were arguing over the wording of amendments to the Constitution, the Southern slaveholders wanted to make sure they could prevent slave uprisings.

That meant that the White Nationalists, which they called the Militia, would be free to, and were at times required to, carry arms.

In the early days of colonialism, both the Virginia and Plymouth colonies required men to bear arms when they attended church. This was originally in defense of a possible Indian attack, but later to stave of a slave uprising.

The largest slave revolt, the Stono Rebellion of 1739, saw one hundred rebel slaves raid a warehouse, steal weapons, kill the owners and march towards St. Augustine, Fla., where under Spanish law, they would be free.

Hence, a 1743 statute in South Carolina "required 'every white male' to carry a gun and at least six rounds of ammunition for it to church." Georgia soon followed.

It's now the 21st century. Times have changed, and then again, somethings never seem to change.

~ Al Zagofsky