“But the term “well regulated militia” means that this is not an unorganized rabble; it means they get “regular” practice, drill”
You mean National Guard, it seems.
Regulated and regulating us a term that us unclear. It was used differently back then.
when the founders said well regulated I think the meant clear thinking, not vigilantes
Bottom line is that you cant regulate this stuff away
Well "it seems" is incorrect. I was referring to the original language and the meaning of each term used in the 2A in its historic context. Yes, individuals owned ships with cannon in those days. I do understand what a letter of marque was and what it implied, and have in fact advocated its use for purging illegals and Muslim terrorists.
At that time "regulated" meant to make frequent, common, and usual, literally something for government to facilitate not hinder. The NG is among the models of that idea in terms of being regulated, but by no means did it mean that the NG was meant to be exclusive of other private ownership of arms.
So your original implications were correct historically with the omission that the Founders really did mean for the States to maintain organized militias, but they are problematic when applied today with the amount of technical integration and capital costs necessary to mount a national defense. A private person could buy a B-1B, but I seriously doubt anybody could afford the development costs. It's just reality. So I do think we need to revisit the concept of a national defense, but I don't trust the current crop of "legislators" to do it.
Sucks, doesn't it?
From what I understand; it means well armed and preferably well trained.
Basically it is our duty as Americans to be well armed and trained in the use of those arms in case we are needed to defend our country.
“Regulated and regulating (as in “a well regulated militia) is a term that us unclear. It was used differently back then.”
I have wondered about that as well. I wonder if the modern modern equivalent might be “a well trained militia”, “an organized and disciplined militia”, or “a highly ready response force” might be closer to what they meant, rather than the modern connotation of regulations as restrictions or limitations. I guess that minutemen were the model of the day.
The term regular continued in use in relation to the military into my lifetime, in things like regular soldiers , or the Regular Army.