Originally Posted By TomSawyer The Bill of Rights wasn't even intended to be part of the original Constitution as it was drafted, and many of the founders thought that it was unnecessary. Essentially, the main body of the Constitution says that the federal government is responsible for how the militia is organized and what the training standards will be. (George Washington was frustrated over and over during the Revolution by the lack of training and discipline among the militias he had to command.)The states would appoint any officers to oversee the militia to make sure that even if the federal government federalized the militia the officers in charge of it would be less likely to command their troops into action against their own states. The Second Amendment, in this context, says that the federal government recognizes that a well-regulated militia (with those regulations established by the powers granted to Congress) is necessary so the federal government would never oppose the ownership of arms by the states or the militia. Keep in mind that the incident that touched off the Revolutionary War was the British move to seize the weapons kept in Lexington and Concord for use by the militia. The British were denying the colonies the right to have a militia to defend themselves. The Second Amendment is in reference to that kind of incident, and addressed the concerns of the members of the convention that the Federal government would have the power to take arms away from the states and local militia. That is why Congress has the power to regulate the militia, but is forbidden from seizing the weapons the militias under state control would need.
