Summary for Lefties & RINOs who have both reading and comprehension problems: The Second Amendment does NOT protect the right of the militia to keep and bear arms. Read the WORDS - "...the right of *the people* to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
*The People* are recognized to have an inalienable right to keep and bear arms just in case some idiot politician decides to turn the power of government against them - *including* the power of the standing army and *well-regulated militia*.
We weep for those of you who have are un-educated, or who have been mal-educated, or who are otherwise cognitively challenged - but we will never surrender arms, and we pray you never make us turn them on you in self defense.
Now, for those who are capable of reading and comprehending - here's the article:
THE SECOND AMENDMENT: READ IT LIKE A FOUNDING FATHER
The Second Amendment: 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 Second Amendment in our Constitution
is the most hotly debated topic regarding our
Natural Rights as Americans. The Second
Amendment is not only misunderstood, but
often deliberately mis-interpreted by people
on both sides of the argument.
Leftists argue that the ‘…right of the people
to keep and bear arms…’ is intrinsically
and inseparably tied to the fi rst part of the
Amendment that states, ‘A well regulated
Militia, being necessary to the security of
a free State…’ – and they are absolutely,
undeniably correct.
They argue incorrectly, either by deliberate or
ignorant misunderstanding, that only those ‘…
people…’ who are part of the ‘…well regulated
militia…’ are entitled to bear arms. That is not
what the Amendment states – at all.
Here’s the bottom line: ‘…the right of the
people to keep and bear arms, shall not be
infringed…’ is precisely because the ‘…well
regulated militia…’ was newly defi ned as a
separate entity under the control of the US
Congress.
Prior to the Revolutionary War, the commonly
understood defi nition of militia was all ablebodied
male citizens. That changed – legally
and constitutionally – in Article 1, Section
8, Clauses 15 & 16 of the Constitution. The
same Founders and Framers, who had just
defeated the British using the Colonial Army
and Colonial Militias, decided to formalize
the American Militia. They decided to make
it ‘Well Regulated’ as opposed to what
existed prior to the war. George Washington
understood intimately that the American
Militia system, to be useful to a General in the
field, had to evolve from what it was during
the Revolution.
So, the Founders and Framers gave the new
Congress authority in Section 1 Article 2:
Clause 15: To provide for calling forth the
militia to execute the laws of the union,
suppress insurrections and repel invasions;
Clause 16: To provide for organizing,
arming, and disciplining, the militia, and
for governing such part of them as may
be employed in the service of the United
States, reserving to the states respectively,
the appointment of the offi cers, and the
authority of training the militia according to
the discipline prescribed by Congress;
The Militia Acts of 1792 further fl eshed-out
the new defi nition of militia and militiamen.
Here is where the leftist & anti-gunner
argument encounters its fatal flaw.
The same Founders and Framers who, in the
new Constitution, redefi ne and form a ‘Well
regulated militia’ under State and Federal
control, also were fresh off the battlefi elds
against the British Standing Army and
several Loyalist Militias. These Founders
and Framers knew that any standing army –
be it an American standing army or even an
American ‘Well regulated militia’ – could be
suddenly turned against ‘…the people…’
So, they drafted the Second Amendment and
crafted it very deliberately. They understood
that a ‘…well regulated militia…’ was essential
to America’s future. They also understood
that the possibility existed that one day, ‘…
the people…’ might have to defend themselves
from that new ‘…well regulated militia…’.
Leftists and anti-gunners like to point out
that today’s National Guard is the same
‘Well-regulated Militia’ established in the
Constitution. They are not wrong.
How many times have ‘…the people…’ been
in harm’s way because the federal, state or
local government has turned the power and
weapons under their authority against ‘…
the people…’? How many times have leftists
bellowed for ‘The Government’ to use force as
a means of imposing their will upon citizens?
Once again, the brilliance of our Founders
and Framers is right there for us to see.
They said: ‘…the right of the people to keep and
bear arms shall not be infringed…’ precisely
because we, the Founders and Framers, are
creating a ‘…well regulated militia, being
necessary to the security of a free state…’
– that, one day, may be used against ‘…the
people…’ who have an unalienable Natural
Right to defend themselves.
It is expressly ‘...the people...’ who have the
right to keep and bear arms.