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Notes -
The intended purpose of the second amendment was to protect the States' right to regulate their own militias, not to abolish it - the people who wrote the Bill of Rights were either anti-Federalists or Federalists negotiating a compromise with them and would have been horrified if they thought they were allowing Federal courts to strike down State gun laws. The Heller line of cases say that the due process clause of the 14th amendment created an individual right analogous to the 2nd amendment but enforceable against the States and are probably correct, but this isn't an argument based on 1789 original intent.
Explain. My understanding has always been that there is but one militia here and that it "consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard".
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