The problem is not the 2nd amendment as it is perfectly clear; .....
Originally Posted by The2Dogs
There are some recent "gnashing of teeth" regarding the meaning of the 2nd amendment in order to justify "gun control." It is instructive to examine "the law" at the time of the passage of the 2nd amendment.
There were laws (in the colonies/states) that forbid the indigenous Indians and Slaves from owning/possessing guns, the former based on the existing hostilities and lack of trust and the latter based on the principle that "property cannot own property." At the same time (in the same period) there were laws (in the colonies/states) that
REQUIRED the head of the household (which included females) to
own at least one firearm, and to implement that
MANDATE there were provisions for the
government to FURNISH the poor with a firearm and munition materiel for operation of the firearms.
It should be noted that the debate about the application of the Bill of Rights to the states was ongoing after their passage, and it was not until the 20th century that it was determined that certain provisions applied to the states. In addition using the Indians and Slaves as examples for today's "gun control" efforts is factually erroneous, because it took decades for the SCOTUS to determine that amendments in the Bill of Rights applied to non-CITIZENS.....which would mean Indians and Slaves were not entitled to benefits of the protections.
The only "control" that the word "militia" might have to firearms is
the MANDATORY OWNERSHIP of them to make the "militia" membership armed. In other words .... just the opposite of the argument apparently employed today.