Here's the text:
Quote:
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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.
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Here's the interpretation of HCI, VPC, Brady and friends:
Quote:
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A well regulated State shall not be infringed.
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They seem to forget quite a few words when reading it.
Just another voice in the dark (with dawn on the horizon), shouting out that "regulated" means well practiced and equipped, "people" means people like everywhere else in the Constitution, and Militia has the same connotation as the Minutemen, Training Bands, and Alarm Lists that were familiar to the Colonials of the day.
"Militia" membership or lack thereof does not preclude the "people" from keeping and bearing arms, or seeking regulation (traditional interpretation, not modern) of their arms.