Constitutional Attorney Explains What "A Well Regulated Militia" ACTUALLY Means

4 Ways to Debunk Myths About the Second Amendment's “A Well Regulated Militia”...
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TIMESTAMPS
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0:00 Leftist Arguments
1:06 Full Text of 2nd Amendment
3:27 Operative vs Prefatory Clause
5:36 What 'Well Regulated' Meant
9:12 What 'Militia' Meant
11:53 2nd Amendment in Bill of Rights
13:08 Wrap Up

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The Four Boxes Diner serves up hot, fresh Second Amendment and gun rights news and analysis. Here you’ll find everything you need to understand and defend YOUR constitutional rights including your right to keep and bear arms. In just a few minutes, you’ll get the inside scoop from constitutional attorney Mark W. Smith, who is a member of the United States Supreme Court Bar, a New York Times bestselling author, a Presidential Scholar at the King’s College, a frequent Fox News guest, and the author of First They Came for the Gun Owners, The Official Handbook of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, and Duped: How the Anti-gun Lobby Exploits the Parkland School Shooting, and How Gun Owners Can Fight Back.

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SUMMARY
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It’s time for one of my favorite activities here at the Four Boxes Diner: Busting anti-gun myths! Let’s tackle one of the most persistent myths. I’m talking about the claim that the Second Amendment doesn’t protect an individual right to keep and bear arms. I devoted a whole video to what the Second Amendment actually says. But in the comments, some of you are saying, Hey, can’t you read? The first part of the amendment talks about a “well-regulated militia.” How can you say the Founders were talking about an individual right? Well, you asked, so I’ll answer. When we get back, we’ll dive into what the “well-regulated militia” clause means. You’ll see why the Second Amendment absolutely protects an individual right to keep and bear arms and why the phrase “A well regulated militia” does not change this conclusion one bit.

So here’s the full text of the Second Amendment: “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.” If you want a full breakdown of that language, check out my video “What the Second Amendment ACTUALLY Says.” For this episode, let’s focus on the first part. That’s the part the anti-gunners make a stink about. They say: See! See! The Founders only meant that military organizations like the National Guard should have arms. Except . . . no. For starters, the U.S. Supreme Court has already said that the Second Amendment protects an individual right. That right is “unconnected with service in a militia,” the Court said. From a constitutional law perspective, there’s no debate.

The Supreme Court explained all this in detail in the landmark 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller. The Court’s ruling said, “The Amendment’s prefatory clause announces a purpose [a REASON FOR], BUT DOES NOT LIMIT or expand the scope of the second part, the operative clause."

Madison also said that Americans possessed an advantage “over the people of almost every other nation.” What was that advantage? It was “the advantage of being armed,” he wrote. Governments in Europe were “afraid to trust the people with arms,” Madison said. Not the United States, though. Well, except today’s anti-gunners really don’t trust the people with arms.

Second, the prefatory clause that mentions a “well-regulated militia” doesn’t limit the individual right expressed in the operative clause. Again, the Supreme Court has said this explicitly. The First and Fourth Amendments, which also refer to “the right of the people,” have several clauses, but one clause does not somehow nullify other clauses.

Third, when the Founders wrote “well regulated,” they weren’t referring to a militia regulated by the government. “Well regulated” meant effective or competent. Fourth, the Founders’ idea of a militia was one run by the people. The way they spoke about militias and organized them shows that. And as James Madison said, Americans enjoyed an advantage over the people of other countries: “the advantage of being armed.”

Further information:
What the 2nd Amendment's text means. https://youtu.be/S5uV5aUxqVw

Heller Supreme Court decision, https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/07pdf/07-290.pdf