Virginia Beach

I fancy myself a wordsmith, and even something of an historian of the effective use of language. In that vein and because of yesterday's events in Virginia Beach, follow me as I parse the Second Amendment.

It's not a beau ideal, folks.  It was and is simply a statement of one way in which the United States would differ from the British Empire.

The first column below is the actual text of the Amendment; the second column is my interpretation of it.  I'm by no means alone in that interpretation.

A well regulated Militia	We had no standing police or military forces when the Constitution was written.
being necessary to the security of a free State	Individual states were left to fend for themselves as far as internal security went.  They even fought among themselves …
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms	The British considered it treasonous for “colonists” to be well-armed and –trained.
shall not be infringed.	So we, the newborn United States, won’t prevent anyone from owning a weapon,  as long as it and the individual who owns it can be part o a “well-regulated militia”.