Search The Library by Daniel J. Schultz The Second Amendment to
the United States Constitution states: "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." The reference to a "well regulated" militia,
probably conjures up a connotation at odds with the meaning
intended by the Framers. In today's English, the term "well
regulated" probably implies heavy and intense government
regulation. However, that conclusion is erroneous. The words
"well regulated" had a far different meaning at the time the
Second Amendment was drafted. In the context of the
Constitution's provisions for Congressional power over certain
aspects of the militia, and in the context of the Framers'
definition of "militia," government regulation was not the
intended meaning. Rather, the term meant only what it says, that
the necessary militia be well regulated, but not by the national
government. To determine the meaning of the Constitution, one
must