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I get so annoyed when I see this:

The full text of the Second Amendment says, "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."

That is not what the Second Amendment says. It says:
"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."
Note the capitalization and punctuation, it is important and is what will ultimately decide this case.

CD

Precisely! I'm glad to see someone else who knows how to read. That first comma isn't there in the original (and official) text. When it is inserted, it turns "being necessary to the security of a free State" into a separate parenthetical clause and destroys the integrity of the sentence. In its original form, everything before the comma is a prepositional phrase which explains why "the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

By itself, the prepositional phrase means nothing. By itself, the rest of the statement is a complete sentence and says all that needs to be said on the subject: "The right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

New guy here in the forum, but not "new" by any means regarding age. All the comments on this topic are very good, especially the support for the NRA. Bottom line for the "anti-gun" politicians and supporters is that we the people are not intelligent enough to handle our own protection and security. These are areas that GOVERNMENT must provide to a subdued population. The politicians will be protected by armed security, the police can call in the military to assist in crime control if firearms are necessary, and the average citizen is out of the loop. Look at New Orleans after Katrina to see what our nation would experience in an emergency if the anti-gun supporters actually get the laws changed. The city government confiscated all citizen firearms, and armed gangs of thugs ruled the area. Vast #s of police "deserted" and vanished. The military was called in to provide control. The average citizen was denied the right to protect him or herself, and many were victimized without any help.
If the government controls security, protection, and regulates all firearms, the people cannot overcome and defeat an all-powerful or criminal government. The government becomes absolute and no one can challenge it. THIS is the goal of the anti-gun polician and their supporters, make no mistake. If we read the pages penned by Jefferson, Madison, and other Founding Fathers, this is exactly the kind of government they rebelled against, and the kind they were determined would not rule the new country they had helped to establish.
Whewwwww...ok time to put up the old soap box and hush .... but for the record I am a life member of the NRA, a retired PUBLIC school adminstrator, a former law enforcement officer, and now a business manager (with several college degrees). I am a sportsman and collector of military historical items. I am not the uneducated and crazy maniac often pictured as a member of the NRA or sportsmen in general. I pray the Supreme Court will make the right decision, and that we who are so interested in history (such as our M37's) will speak out against such dangerous positions as firearms bans.
Thanks for patiently listening to my position, and good high marks to this forum for content that helps us restore & maintain our M37's as well as provide other issues of importance and interest.
Dwayne Carlock aka Reddman