The 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution is short and sweet… and confusing only to those who are willing to completely ignore traditional English sentence structure.
It reads:
“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.”
From that, the pro-gun control folk get the concept that the government has total control over every manner of “arms” that exists. And that these arms only can function within the purview of a “well regulated militia.”
Let’s take a closer look at that logic with a comparison to another militia necessity.
The importance of a horse in the 1700-1800s to army personnel was extremely high. It was their transportation, it was their luggage carrier, and if necessary, they could even eat it during a siege. Therefore, it was paramount to know that all the militia could show up with their horse in hand when called upon. So… the Founding Fathers put a clause in the Constitution that read something such as this:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and ride horses shall not be infringed”
Now, based upon the interpretations of those who have difficulty understanding English, they would have us believe that only those who belong to the militia have the “right” to keep and ride a horse. No other people do. Not farmers. Not cowboys. Not horse racers. Not teamsters. Not stagecoach companies. Not little girls with their ponies. No one has the “right” to keep and ride a horse except someone who belongs to a “well regulated militia.”
And furthermore, those who have the “right” to keep and ride a horse must abide by the government regulations as to the particular, allowable breed of horse, the number of legs the horse must have, how old it must be, how tall it can be, the color of its hair, how long the mane can be, whether or not it is male or female, how often you can breed it, and if it is gelded. Not to mention the total number of horses one can buy, keep and ride, who you can buy it from, or the sum total poundage of the herd. Or how fast it can be ridden and how many miles in one trip.
If this seems exceptionally silly… that is because the basic argument of those who dismiss the 2nd Amendment as only applying to the militia is exceptionally silly. They really know that deep in their heart… which is why they generally just wave their hands and don’t try to actually defend their position.