The Meaning of the Words in the Second Amendment
Erroneous interpretations of the words in the Second Amendment occur from both sides of the debate. The meaning of the words “militia,” “well regulated,” “the people,” “to keep and bear,” and “arms,” are discussed.
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.
Militia
The word “militia” has several meanings. It can be a body of citizens (no longer exclusively male) enrolled for military service where full time duty is required only in emergencies. The term also refers to the eligible pool of citizens callable into military service. The federal government can use the militia for the following purposes as stated in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution:
To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;
Is today’s National Guard the militia? It is a part of the well-regulated militia, and as mentioned in GunCite’s, The Original Intent and Purpose of the Second Amendment, it was not the intent of the framers to restrict the right to keep arms to only those serving active militia duty.
Once a member of a State Guard unit is ordered into active military service of the United States, that person is no longer under the command of, or serving, a State Guard unit (until they are relieved from federal service), but is now a member of the army. (See the Supreme Court case Perpich v. Department of Defense, 496 U.S. 334 (1990) for a brief but good explanation of the evolution of the National Guard statutes.)
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i ma on parole and before i got on parole i loved to go hunting now i cant because of the right i have lost i wish there was a way to get a shotgun not a hand gun to go hunting with i live in kentucky this place sucks
Well militia and the second amendment to me means that in addition to the guns bought for sporting we are also entitled to bear arms for the sole purpose of self defense hence the words arms and militia, as well as the “will not be infringedâ€. however if the supreme court addresses this they may have to fully interpret the amendment and abolish all forms of gun control entirely or they may allow congress to make such laws so they probably ignore it and may be support it by stating the right of congress to make laws that they feel are just and benefit common good (it’s in the constitution I forgot where)