Why “Civilan(s)” is a Dirty Word

A man named James A. Gagliano recently posted the following on Facebook, “I’ve carried (an) automatic weapon in combat theater(s), semi-automatic rifles as a member of FBI tactical response teams. (I) carry concealed today as a retired LEO. And am a firm believer in (the) 2nd Am.

But WHY on God’s green earth (sic) do CIVILIANS need a double-drum ammo magazine?”

I’m nor sure exactly why I took notice of his use of the word “civilians” but I did.

Formally, the word is defined as “a person not in the armed services or the police force.

But informally it means: a person who is not a member of a particular profession or group, as viewed by a member of that group.

Okay, so automatically the word is meant to “slightly” degrade our status as Mr. Gagliano did. It brings about a sense of superiority when it should only be used to establish the credentials of a person claiming superior ability and knowledge. When someone is having a heart attack in a restaurant, it’s out of a sense of doing the right thing when another person steps up and says, “I’m a doctor, let me help.” But that wasn’t what Mr. Gagliano meant, what it? He was clearly establishing his “superiority” and didn’t realize he was only establishing his arrogance toward his fellow American citizens (who all have the right to keep and bear whatever arms they deem necessary. He actually contradicts himself when he says he’s a firm supporter of the 2nd Amendment. to the U.S. Constitution.

“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.”

Lets parse this sentence:
First, we know from several sources that during the late 18th Century “well regulated” referred to properly constituted and prepared. Proper constitution provided for the election of a command officer by the volunteer members of any state militia and each militia had authority to obtain the arms they might need for any particular threat, usually on the local community level. Volunteers were assumed to be an American citizen, not just a “civilian.” But militias were actually needed to “defend the state” they lived in and even possibly defend the nation against foreign threats.

Back to militia commanders: It should be more widely known that such unlikely people as Benjamin Franklin were not only militia members but in Franklin’s case he was elected to command two militia groups on two occasions. The first time, he led a group of volunteers into the not so distant countryside (Philadelphia was the largest town with only 5,000 population at the time) to a settlement that needed to build a stockade against Indian attack. That militia did no fighting, they were armed but were there to help that small isolated community in Pennsylvania. Never the less, they might have encountered the actual combatant Indians since. they could strike anywhere at any time.

The second time, Franklin was elected to lead the Philadelphia Militia when rumors spread of a possible attack on Philadelphia’s water front shipping area. For that, some cannons were needed so Franklin requested six from the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the request was denied. So Franklin , who was a prominent citizen of Philadelphia, just went around asking people he knew had cannons of their own and ended up with twelve cannons rather than just six. Can you imagine people doing things like that today? It’s really a matter of knowing one’s current circumstances and being smart enough to deal with those circumstances for the general benefit of all.

Another little known fact: The framers of the Bill of Rights adapted the wording of the Second Amendment from nearly identical clauses in some of the original 13 state constitutions. This establishes the general understanding at the time. Subsequent admission of states led those states to. also adopt the same wording and even improve on it. Today there are a number of states like Michigan which have clauses in their state constitutions which read like this:
§ 6 Bearing of arms.
Sec. 6. Every person has a right to keep and bear arms for the defense of himself and the state.

But again I think it would be better if the wording were changed to “Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms for the defense of himself and that state. — — Not “every civilian” though.

Today Michigan has a total of 10 million US citizens who are residents in the state. 7.5 million of them are adults. 2.5 million are minors — in need of support and defense.

I’ve decided to dislike use of the word “civilian” when what is really meant is citizen — American citizen of any and all states in the Union.

Are you an American citizen? If so, you have the right to keep and bear arms for both self defense and the defense of your state and country.

I close thinking it more accurate and appropriate to think of us as American citizens with rights, abilities and responsibilities. This excludes those who cannot or will not live up to their abilities and responsibilities to maintain lawful behavior and a lawful society which deals with criminals appropriately. We have gotten so conditioned to living “carefree” that we’ve come to believe we don’t need rights and don’t even have the ability to defend our selves, our society or our nation. That we are encouraged by some politicians and misguided people like Mr. Gagliano to think we don’t have the ability or the right to keep and bear arms is something I hope those reading this will dwell on and give some regard.

So yes, American citizens do have a need for 100-round drum magazines at times and places we cannot foresee.

Everyone mistakenly believes that between sworn law officers and our military, it’s futile, foolish and dangerous to even want to own a firearm. Well, that needs to be looked at some more. You see, the total of law enforcement officers at local, state and federal levels totals only 800,000 nation wide. Michigan has only 19,009 sworn law officers for 10 million people spread over 93,000 square miles. They cannot be uniformly distributed and therefore people in outlying areas may wait a lot more than 4–5 minutes for help to arrive. Millions of people are in that situation in Michigan and all the states but the smallest, most densely populated. When seconds count, you had better be prepared to mount your best defense immediately.

The same applies to our federal military troops, which aren’t actually to be used to deal with any but officially declared emergencies. They MAY NOT go into homes looking for legally owned guns. And neither the police nor the military can spend the amount of time and money needed to actually confiscate any citizen’s guns even if they do own a closet full of 100 round drum magazines for their AR-15.

I can rightly assert that, maybe unconsciously, some people like this man believe “civiIians” = unqualified or automatically safe and free of dangers which may be relatively distant such as future civil wars and even legitimate rebellions against oppressive government agencies or bodies. — — Such people should be reminded that in the United States we have government ONLY by consent which is government of, for and by the People — WHO ALL ARE “CIVILIANS.” In America the proper term is American citizens, not just “civilians.” Lets go on a campaign against using the word “CIVILIANS” when referring to Americans. This is OUR government, OUR law enforcement and OUR military — we are not theirs, they are all OURS.