What did the Founders mean...

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

79. Well, that's a wise question to ask.

The body of the preamble from the BoR makes clear the objective of the Founders. The text of the rights as articulated and passed was drawn mainly from George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights. Mason proposed the Bill of Rights be added to the original Constitution. Several states required the inclusion of a Bill of Rights in their conditional ratifications of the Constitution.

In the excerpted text I have highlighted via underline three reasons for and characterizations of the Bill of Rights. For those who suggest that the 2A (or any of those ten articles) are useful to somehow limit individual rights, I suggest that they read and ponder the paragraphs below and the entire BoR.

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript#toc-the-u-s-bill-of-rights
THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.

ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.