A militia is of the people, not a government military. In order to be able to form a militia and respond to an emergency the people must have immediate access to arms and this shall not be infringed.
When have we not had the right to own arms? My understanding is that it’s been a right from the beginning - so it is what the founders intended.
That said, other than the people having the right to own arms, what is even more stark - the 2A openly declares the right of the people to form armed militia’s. To people in Europe this is nuts!
The other mistake they make is when they read “well regulated militia”, thinking “government controlled”. At the time of writing “well regulated” language was used to describe “correctly functioning”. So we’re able to own arms, form organized militia, and engage in activities to ensure they’re effective (training operations). This is considered radical in many places - but necessary to be a check against tyrannical government, which the rest of western society thinks is laughable for some unknown reason.
I came here from the UK as a teenager. Some of these concepts were completely foreign to me. It took a while for me to understand the ‘why’.
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Some of these concepts were completely foreign to me. It took a while for me to understand the ‘why’.
I don't think it is "for some unknown reason."
The militia was the “neighborhood watch” of its day.