“History is clear that the first ten amendments to the Constitution were adopted to secure certain common law rights of the people, against invasion by the Federal Government.”

Self evident and absolutely accurate. AND, thank you editor - great cite.

The Bill of Rights did not grant any rights -- this distinction is important in understanding who the boss really is in America: the citizens at large. The government was chartered for specific purposes, and government employees/officers were strictly regulated by the People, not the other way around.

There is no 2nd Amendment right to bear arms!! The 'right' already exists and cannot be taken away. The 2nd Amendment was a rule for the government, not the people. It prohibits the government from making legislation that disarms the citizenry, because it was the citizenry that fought and won their independence with full possession of their weapons -- they did not give that up, nor have they given their fellows in government the power to disarm them.

Same for the rest of the Bill of Rights -- all are prohibitions on government, not the People. And it's a good thing, too, because the founders fears were confirmed as without these amendments, the meaning of the Constitution would have been twisted to mean its polar opposite (not that it hasn't been already...).

Archer, YES!!!, I like the industrial strength - RIGHT-ON ! ! ! - pill you took today. In the Second Amendment it states: the "right" of the people . . ." Each and every "right" emanates from an individual - it is NOT communal or collective in existence or nature. Though each person may act individually or in concert with others, such as in a militia, a/the "right" remains inalienable to the living single creation.

right on

Spot on.