The text of the amendment, which refers to a “well regulated Militia,” suggests as much. As the Supreme Court correctly noted in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the militia of the founding era was the body of ordinary citizens capable of taking up arms to defend the nation.

A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, being the best security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; but no one religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person.

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. The original text of the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.

2021年6月14日 · The preamble to the Second Amendment mentions service in a militia as a reason citizens have the right to keep and bear arms: “ A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a...

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads: "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."

2023年2月3日 · In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller held (5-4) that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual the right to possess firearms independent of service in a state...

In the debate over the Second Amendment, this phrase, "a well regulated militia," remains one of the most cited and argued parts of the sentence. What did a free state mean? It may seem obvious, but Rosen and Rakove agree the Constitution bore a lot of contemporary moralism and not every word is well-defined.