Explaining the 2nd Amendment:

The 2nd Amendment is divided into two parts.  

The first part is, “ A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State”,.  

The second part is, “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

The second part is the operant clause. Its the action part of the sentence. It is also an independent clause which makes a complete statement by itself.  It states: the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The words “shall not” are only used regarding this right.

The first clause is an explanation of why this right is so important. “A well regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free State”. A free State is a country where the people live with liberty. It is also a dependent clause which requires the second clause to have make a complete statement.

What confuses some people are the word “militia” and the term “well regulated”.  Militia has been purposefully misconstrued, by anti-2A people to mean the army or national guard.  This would mean only the government had the right to arms and would directly contradict the operant clause of the 2nd Amendment.  

A militia is a “military force comprised of the citizens, called upon in an emergency to supplement the Army.  As George Mason said of the militia,  “… it is the whole people.”

“Well regulated” is an interesting phrase. People think of it as meaning regulated by the government, but that would be counter to the reason and intent of the 2nd Amendment and the Bill of Rights which defined the rights of the people. Well regulated in the context of the writing of the 2nd Amendment meant “in good working order.”

In effect, the 2nd Amendment says, “It is necessary to have a militia of armed citizens to ensure liberty and so the government shall not infringe on their right to keep and bear arms.