I believe the intent of the amendment was to allow citizens to bear arms so that a militia could be assembled if necessary.
Joe Bfstplk wrote: “I believe the intent of the amendment was to allow citizens to bear arms so that a militia could be assembled if necessary.”
That is the clear meaning of it, yes. Unfortunately, that means little to the leftists who believe in a “living” constitution. They will simply redefine it to mean whatever they can. That’s why no amount of amendments can ever fix the constitution the way conservatives want. If a liberal judge can redefine interstate commerce to mean you can’t grow crops on your own property for your own consumption, they’ll redefine a HLA or gay marriage ban, too. They only cure is to get rid of judicial activists (liberal OR conservative) and replace them with judges that will follow the clear intent of the laws. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to do that if we can’t win in 2008!