Butch Cassidy, The Pinkerton Agency, and the Second Amendment

Considering gun control #2: What was meant by militia in the the second amendment? There was no local police force at the time it was written. The idea of a local police force came about in the late nineteenth century, when the owners of the railroads felt it was too costly to continue to pay the Pinkerton detective agency to protect their trains from a “robin hood” like Butch Cassidy. Cassidy never killed anyone during all of his robberies. And he only remained free because the local ranchers protected him. Cassidy often contributed to their need. There is a story about him learning of a woman about to lose her property to the bank. So he gave her $1000 to pay the bank in full. And he told,her to get a signed receipt from the banker who was coming that day. She did. And then Cassidy hid along the route that the banker traveled and held him up, getting the money back. Cassidy’s family had been betrayed by the government, (he felt), taking away much of their homestead and pushing them into poverty. Cassidy used a gun. The Pinkerton agency, was hired to use guns to stop Cassidy and his gang from their successful efforts. And as I mentioned, this agency later became the local police. The police were created by the wealthy, to protect their wealth. That was their intended purpose. We have forgotten our history.

Thanks to John H. Bosch for his writing on the history of the police.