LogFAQs > #966044998

IdiotMachine posted...

The second amendment doesn't say YOU have the right to bear arms. Here's literally what it says:
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.

I take this to interpret that a well regulated Militia, made up of the people, shall have the right to keep and bear arms.

The militia is the whole of the citizenry. We know this both from the writings of the founding fathers, and from court precedent. The amendment exists to ensure the government cannot prevent a citizen from exercising his right to bear arms in order to participate in the well-regulated militia to defend themselves and ensure a free state.