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2nd Amendment Right To Form A Militia In Middlesex
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Middlesex
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US-000298
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FAQ
The phrase “well regulated militia” in the Second Amendment cannot be interpreted to mean the same thing as the Army or National Guard (which constitutes only those portions of the Militia referenced in Articles I and II of the Constitution, called forth into the “actual service of the United States”).
The Second Amendment comprises just a single sentence that allows for considerable interpretation. Enacted in 1789 alongside nine other amendments collectively known as the Bill of Rights, it prohibits the government from infringing upon a "well-regulated Militia."
The militia was a part time army in colonial Massachusetts responsible for the colony's defense. Every town was expected to maintain at least one company (approx. 60 men) commanded by a captain.
At the time of the American Revolutionary War, militias were groups of able-bodied men who protected their towns, colonies, and eventually states. "When the Constitution was drafted, the militia was a state-based institution," says Rakove. "States were responsible for organizing this."
Article I, Section 8, Clause 15: The Congress shall have Power . . . To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; . . . Houston v.
The Second Amendment was written to protect Americans' right to establish militias to defend themselves, not to allow individual Americans to own guns; consequently, gun-control measures do not violate the U.S. Constitution.
A “well-regulated” militia simply meant that the processes for activating, training, and deploying the militia in official service should be efficient and orderly, and that the militia itself should be capable of competently executing battlefield operations.
As Alexander Hamilton noted in The Federalist No. 29, a well-regulated militia can render a large standing army unnecessary. A militia can better resist a tyrannical government if the "able-bodied" citizens are organized, trained, and have weapons.
At 624–25 (quoting United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174, 179 (1939)) (“We therefore read Miller to say only that the Second Amendment does not protect those weapons not typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, such as short-barreled shotguns.”); see also Caetano v.