"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."

Who are the "People"?

Let's look at the preamble:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

The preamble makes it clear that the "people" in the 2nd Amendment is "We the People of the United States". There is no characterization of a specific group of people, only US citizens.

Others believe that the militia is our national guard, but that's not true.

But what does "well regulated" honestly mean? If you think of it as trained and maintained, you would be on the right track.

This is where one side gets the notion that "militia" means "National Guard". The National Guard was formed and established in 1636. However, the Federalist Papers are the true authors of what militia means to us as citizens. Basically, it means every able bodied man according to the writings of our forefathers. Remember, only 3% of every able bodied man fought the British of the original colonists. This is where the III%'s come from in our modern time. I'm not going to get into the merits of who they are.

"Being necessary to the security of a free State" means that every able bodied man is the protection of the state. Freedom is not free, it is paid in blood. Thomas Jefferson stated in a letter to William S. Smith "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

"the right of people to keep and bear arms", as we have already established who the people are, the right there is for the people to own firearms in the protection of themselves and their property. "Keep and bear arms" means that we have the right to own and carry firearms. They're is no distinction as to the type were allowed to keep and own. This where others believe that they have the right to regulate what we are allowed to own. This is why we continue to see more and more restrictive gun control laws.

"shall not be infringed", and this is where we stand our ground in all our efforts against more firearm legislation. This is not a line in the sand that can be compromised. This is why we must continue our fight against those who would assuredly disarm you, who are willing to break into your home and steal your right of self preservation and the fight against tyranny.

For those considering what this honestly means for the first time, it is clear that this right must be fought for. That legislation that infringe upon our rights must be defeated before they become law.

~Patti Beth

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