The Second Amendment is only one single sentence containing a mere 27 words: “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.” (Punctuation and capitalization shown as originally adopted.)
A “well regulated militia” is not an individual — it is an organized and disciplined public force. Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist #29 that it was to secure the sovereignty of free “States”; like our National Guard today which fills that role.
A “free State” does not enjoy “security” if it is under constant threat of be shot up in schools, churches, retail stores, concerts or nightclubs.
This is how the Amendment was always interpreted and understood from the time it was adopted in 1791 until a corrupt Supreme Court turned it on its head with a 2008 ruling 217 years later.
The Second Amendment was the right of a free State [capitalization of a word not usually capitalized] to raise its own militia apart from the Federal government. Alexander Hamilton (another of the Founders) explained explicitly in Federalist #29 mean that, while Article I Section 8 reserved the right to raise armies to the Federal government, the Second Amendment would preserve the rights of States, as differentiated from the federal government, to raise their own forces to handle emergencies. And due to the Supremacy Clause (Article VI Section 2), the federal government would also have the power to call up or activate such a force for federal emergencies.
The Second Amendment is only one single sentence containing a mere 27 words: “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.” (Punctuation and capitalization shown as originally adopted.)
A “well regulated militia” is not an individual — it is an organized and disciplined public force. Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist #29 that it was to secure the sovereignty of free “States”; like our National Guard today which fills that role.
A “free State” does not enjoy “security” if it is under constant threat of be shot up in schools, churches, retail stores, concerts or nightclubs.
This is how the Amendment was always interpreted and understood from the time it was adopted in 1791 until a corrupt Supreme Court turned it on its head with a 2008 ruling 217 years later.
The Second Amendment was the right of a free State [capitalization of a word not usually capitalized] to raise its own militia apart from the Federal government. Alexander Hamilton (another of the Founders) explained explicitly in Federalist #29 mean that, while Article I Section 8 reserved the right to raise armies to the Federal government, the Second Amendment would preserve the rights of States, as differentiated from the federal government, to raise their own forces to handle emergencies. And due to the Supremacy Clause (Article VI Section 2), the federal government would also have the power to call up or activate such a force for federal emergencies.