To the editor:

In the recent release of the Supreme Count draft decision on Roe v. Wade, Justice Samuel Alito held that the court must use the word meaning of the founding fathers. In the Constitution, the founding fathers gave us the Supreme Court to interpret it's meaning. 

In Christianity, we have a similar situation in interpreting the Bible.

One group, the Fundamentalists hold that the Bible must be literally translated. Others hold that, prior to His assertion, Jesus gave his disciples the Holy Spirit (the Seat of Wisdom) to guide them in interpreting his teachings. 

This recent leaked decision, if it becomes the basis of the actual decision, could upset many current principles. 

For example, look at the Second Amendment which is one run-on sentence: "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.”

The founding fathers decided that the powers of the president would be limited and that the new nation would not have a standing army (the Continental Army of Washington was disbanded after the end of the revolution).

The colonies had developed their own militias made up of able-bodied men, owning their own fire arms, who drilled together.  Lexington and Concord were militias against the British Army. Militia units aided the continental army during the bigger battle of the Revolution. Most of the battles of the War of 1812 was fought by militia units under state control. When Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to defend the Union, it was state militia units that he was seeking and they responded.

Today, instead of different units in different uniforms, the militia is the National Guard — each area having a unit that is a part of the whole state organization. However, many schools colors are based upon the colors of the pre civil war militias of that community.

If Alito's thinking becomes the law, abortion, gun control , marriage rights etc. could all fall back to the control of the individual states.

Think about that.

Patrick J. T. Curran, PhD.,

Dartmouth