Out Of The Gate Analysis

After reading Professor Randy Barnett’s piece, you truly have to question whether his original intent was to offer a simple review, or to denounce the credibility of H. Uviller and William Merkel. Randy Barnett’s underlying tone becomes immediately apparent to any engaged reader as he exposes the blatant opinion-filled diatribe hidden under the guise of a historical, educational book. Out of the gate, tongue in cheek, Barnett alludes to the idea of the original author’s misrepresentation of who they were and the sources they’ve collected. He portrays Uviller and Merkel, two scholars from Duke University, as confused amateur authors with little substance. If nothing else, Professor Barnett looks to discredit or possibly even scold Uviller and Merkel for trying to push

He presents the arguments laid out by the original authors, though he struggles to separate each one due to how convoluted and confusing the authors make it. Their first point, Barnett states, is that the term “bear arms” has an exclusively military connotation. Something as historic as the second amendment, if ratification is justified, is sure to have proportionally historic sources to back it up. However, Barnett reveals that the original authors source an opinionated essay as their champion defense. Not only do they rely on a piece from a collection of book reviews, but their source was later exposed, prior to the book being written, to be misusing a Latin translation. Without a source of his own, Barnett would already stand to win the debate. Nonetheless, Barnett chooses to add to his rebuttal a bill drafted by Thomas Jefferson himself in 1785 which uses the very same term outside of military context. In the bill, Jefferson uses the term, “bearing of a gun” to when discussing the hunting of deer. Jefferson makes a point to address those serving a military position separate from the main focus of the