G.R. Patterson III wrote:


Using the definitions applicable at the time the Constitution was written, the 2nd
ammendment states that every citizen is allowed to own and carry arms because an
armed citizenry is necessary for the defense of the country. The word "militia" did
not begin to aquire it's current meaning of an adjunct of the U.S. military until the
War Between the States.

Specifically the meaning applicable to the Constitution is the "body of citizens
that might be called to serve in the military." The right to bear arms is
deemed as essential to US readiness.

The term "well regulated" doesn't mean full of government bureaucracy.
The term means ordered, methodical, uniform. It's a common construction
in the English at the time.