Wow, what else got into (or got left out of) the Constitution because of political concerns?

That really is the question, isn’t it? If the Second Amendment only exists because James Madison had to appease a few angry people (who were probably clinging to those First Amendment religious freedoms, too), then it’s entirely possible that other things were left out for the same reason.

This is Steven Breyer’s argument against enforcing Second Amendment protections. Ed Morrissey links to this:

Madison “was worried about opponents who would think Congress would call up state militias and nationalize them. ‘That can’t happen,’ said Madison,” said Breyer, adding that historians characterize Madison’s priority as, “I’ve got to get this document ratified.”

Therefore, Madison included the Second Amendment to appease the states, Breyer said.

Well, wouldja lookit that. Y’know, I bet that’s why they didn’t specifically include the right to abortion, too. Or cradle-to-grave health care. Or the right to cheap, yet ultra-dependable satellite TV. Those things are really in there, see, they just couldn’t write them in, because they had to get the thing passed!

Regardless: those things aren’t in there. And the Second Amendment is. The “why” is irrelevant. The rule of law depends on what’s actually written down.

More at Memeorandum.