Who are the Militia?

[jimmy the one]

119. he's so vain......

beevul:"well regulated" in amendment 2. It does in fact mean well equipped. Which part of that contradicts anything I said?

An early draft (june8,1789) of 2ndA contradicts you: early 2ndA draft: The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country; but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person. June8,1789 http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

The early 2ndA draft lists both 'well armed' and 'well regulated', thus they are two separate concepts. Well armed of course is synonymous with 'well equipped', but obviously well regulated was added to express regulation of said well armed militia forces.

beevul: My extrapolation: A. makes more sense textually than yours, B. fits better historically in about ten different ways than yours C meshes with the framers own words in the preamble to the bill of rights D has the support of 70+ percent of the American people - 70 plus percent of the American people agree that amendment 2 protects a right that belongs to individuals E Has court precedent on its side

He's so vain; you got one of 5, mendoza line, but you apply modern understanding of 2ndA with original intent to back into correctness; for most people can't even recite properly the 2ndA, know who wrote it or when, less yet understand in depth the underlying issues. Most generally think of 2ndA as granting a right to bear arms - completely out of line with your interpretation as a limitation on congress, eh? - & most americans view the militia interpretation as denying said rkba to the people, equating this with a police state, nra propagunda has been effective.