MASONS ORIGINAL TEXT “17. That the People have a Right to keep and to bear Arms;

MASONS ORIGINAL TEXT

“17. That the People have a Right to keep and to bear Arms; that a well regulated Militia, composed of the Body of the People, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe Defence of a free State; that Standing Armies in Time of Peace are dangerous to Liberty, and therefore ought to be avoided as far as the Circumstances and Protection of the Community will admit; and that in all Cases, the military should be under strict Subordination to, and governed by the Civil Power.”

In other words, a militia takes precedence in preservation of liberty over the standing military.