[Chainmail]

"Well regulated" meant well-trained or well-drilled in the 18th Century parlance. That's why professional troops were called "Regulars".

Training is a good thing.

[HiTech RedNeck]

True. That was why it was viewed as so important that everyone could bear arms at will. Practice, practice, practice made perfect.

[HiTech RedNeck]

And Heller was more about availability. Ideas of responsibility have changed over the years. Would you feel obligated enough to your neighbor’s security to want to take the trouble, expense, and possible danger to be well practiced in using arms?

Chivalry, if not dead, has turned into a zombie.

[real saxophonist]

When I marched to the Capitol with the Second Amendment Sisters, I had about three people in my face hollering, ‘WELL REGULATED! WELL REGULATED!’ I know what it meant in the 1700s, but there’s not much point in trying to explain that to people who just want to get in your face and yell. Semper Fi

[Sivad]

So true. And, one function of said militia
was to potentially oppose a standing army
sent by a tyrannical central government to
force their will on the people. The Federalist
#46 tells us that in words penned by James Madison.

[longtermmemmory]

it also meant citizens who would bring their own weapons to the task since the government did not just have them around.

[zeugma]

"Well regulated" meant well-trained or well-drilled in the 18th Century parlance. That's why professional troops were called "Regulars".

The term is still used in it's traditional sense with watches. When you have a good mechanical watch serviced, a part of that service should include regulating its accuracy.