General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The 2nd Amendment was NOT written "to protect us from our gov't," FFS... [View all]sulphurdunn
(6,891 posts)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.
This statement has always seemed clear to me: Militias are groups of armed civilians who can be called to military service on short notice and can bring their own weapons to defend the state against whatever violent threats it may face. Militias are not the National Guard or the Reserves. To have a militia, the state must have an armed citizenry in possession of personal weapons. The problem we face today is that we have a citizenry armed to the teeth and no militia to justify it, as if just owning a gun was a right without a responsibility. If the need for a state militia has passed, the Constitution should be amended to reflect that and the uninfringed right to bear arms curtailed.