Original sentence: ' This right was separate from militia duties.Edward Christian’s edition of Blackstone’s Commentaries that appeared in the 1790’s described the rights of Englishmen (which every American colonist had been promised) in these terms 'everyone is at liberty to keep or carry a gun, if he does not use it for the [unlawful] destruction of game.However, "Searching more comprehensive collections of English language works published before 1820 shows that there are a number of uses that...have nothing to do with military service...[and] The common law was in agreement.On the other hand, Sayoko Blodgett-Ford, contradicting the presumption of Gary Wills, notes usage of the phrase in the Pennsylvania ratifying convention:"[T]he people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and their own state, or the United States, or the purpose of killing game; and no law shall be passed for disarming the people or any of them, unless for crimes committed.Some historians have published peer reviewed research that shows that prior to and through the Eighteenth century, usage of the expression "bear arms" referred to the profession of military service, as opposed to the use of firearms by civilians, though this conclusion may be due to selection bias
Edited sentence: "He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.As an example, the expression 'bear arms' is contained in the United States Declaration of Independence in the sense of 'military service' on a warship, as part of an indictment of the King of Great Britain for conscripting Colonial sailors to serve on British warships.Some historians have published peer reviewed research that shows that prior to and through the Eighteenth century, usage of the expression "bear arms" referred to the profession of military service, as opposed to the use of firearms by civilians