The Second Amendment and the National Guard

I don't understand where all of the confusion surrounding the Second Amendment comes from.

"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."

I keep hearing from people that this means only the National Guard may own weapons (because they are the modern equivalent of "the Militia"). The 2nd Amendment provides no "individual right" to keep arms, according to this crowd.

Huh?

Let's go back to the 1780's. What was the "well regulated Militia"? The Militia was every able-bodied man under the age of 60 (excluding professional soldiers).

Also, "well-regulated" meant "disciplined" - not under heavy government control.

The Militiamen kept their weapons ready for battle at their homes and workplaces. The individual citizen was allowed to keep, practice, and train himself in firearms use.

The next clause states that it is the "right of the people" to bear arms. Now, if the "right of the people" is not the right of individuals like you and me, then we can throw the Bill of Rights into the wastebasket. Why? Because five amendments in the Bill of Rights includes that specific phrase - the right of the people.

Amendment 1 guarantees "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Amendment 2 guarantees "the right of the people peaceably to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Amendment 4 guarantees "the right of the peopel to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and suezures, shall not be violated..."

Amendment 9 guarantees "the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

Amendment 10 guarantees "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited to it by the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Now, if people want to hate the Second Amendment, fine. But if people want to falsly argue that the Second Amendment doesn't ensure an individual right, well, they might as well surrender their First Amendment freedoms - among others.

By the way, the National Guard cannot be the modern equivalent of the Militia, as described in the 2nd Amendment: Guardsmen are prohibited by Federal Law (32 U.S.C. sec 105[a][1]) from keeping their military arms. These arms are owned, stored, and inventoried by the Federal government, and required to be kept under lock and key in an armory. (source - David I. Kaplan)