I think that a definition of the word Militia may be sufficient to change your mind on the "problem" of the preceding

clauses. Let's start with the simplified subject of "militia" Definition: 1. An army composed of ordinary citizens rather than professional soldiers. 2. A military force that is not part of a regular army and is subject to call for service in an emergency. 3. The whole body of physically fit civilians eligible by law for military service. [Latin mlitia, warfare, military service, from mles, mlit-, soldier.] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, copyright 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. A militia is therefore defined as a collective entity that has the power of a military force; it is a body of citizens that is not part of a regular army, raised during an emergency, and subject to serve (in this case, it can be assumed due to the wording of the second amendment, the state, as opposed to the nation). Well-regulated: while more difficult to define in context, let's take a broad definition of the verb "regulate" and extrapolate: regulate (rgy-lt) tr.v. regulated, regulating, regulates 1. To control or direct according to rule, principle, or law. 2. To adjust to a particular specification or requirement: regulate temperature. 3. To adjust (a mechanism) for accurate and proper functioning. 4. To put or maintain in order: regulate one's eating habits. [Middle English, from Late Latin rgulre, rgult-, from Latin rgula, rod, rule; see reg- in Indo-European roots.] regulative, regulatory (-l-tr, -tr) adj. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition ,copyright 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published ,by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Within context, regulate would mean structured according to rule, principle or law as to ensure for accurate and proper functioning in, in this case, a body of citizens called upon in an emergency to serve their state in a military capacity outside of a standing army. Applying this to the past tense would mean that persons constituting a militia would have already have been trained within some context in presumably a manual of arms, perhaps amounting to no more than the safe operation of a firearm.

necessary (n s -s r ) adj. 1. Absolutely essential. See Synonyms at indispensable. 2. Needed to achieve a certain result or effect; requisite: the necessary tools. 3. a. Unavoidably determined by prior conditions or circumstances; inevitable: the necessary results of overindulgence. b. Logically inevitable. 4. Required by obligation, compulsion, or convention: made the necessary apologies.

n. pl. necessaries Something indispensable. [Middle English necessarie, from Old French necessaire, from Latin necess necesse; see ked- in Indo-European roots.] rius, from

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company

Necessary needs little definition; something that is necessary is absolutely essential, requisite, unavoidably determined (perhaps historically, citing precedent for the importance of said item etc.) Delving into definition four, something that is necessary is required by obligation, perhaps hinting at a causal relationship of the militia to the preservation of security within a free state, which leads us to the definition of security.

Security: This should be an easy definition: security (s-kyr-t) n. pl. securities 1. Freedom from risk or danger; safety. 2. Freedom from doubt, anxiety, or fear; confidence. 3. Something that gives or assures safety, as: a. A group or department of private guards: Call building security if a visitor acts suspicious. b. Measures adopted by a government to prevent espionage, sabotage, or attack. c. Measures adopted, as by a business or homeowner, to prevent a crime such as burglary or assault: Security was lax at the firm's smaller plant. d. Measures adopted to prevent escape: Security in the prison is very tight. 4. Something deposited or given as assurance of the fulfillment of an obligation; a pledge. 5. One who undertakes to fulfill the obligation of another; a surety. 6. A document indicating ownership or creditorship; a stock certificate or bond. [Middle English securite, from Old French, from Latin scrits, from scrus, secure; see secure.] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, copyright 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. Security within the most relevant context would apply to definition numbers one and three (b and c); security under these definitions requires therefore the ability to ensure either the prevention of espionage, sabotage or attack, and the prevention of crime. Security is contingent upon the freedom from risk or danger. This relatively broad scope of the definition of security allows for the prima facie interpretation to account for the individual and collective right to defend such security, within the scope of the clause A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state

The well-regulated militia, being the necessary and specific instrument by which to ensure security. Now to define free.

free (fr ) adj. freer, freest 1. Not imprisoned or enslaved; being at liberty. 2. Not controlled by obligation or the will of another: felt free to go. 3. a. Having political independence: "America . . . is the freest and wealthiest nation in the world" (Rudolph W. Giuliani). b. Governed by consent and possessing or granting civil liberties: a free citizenry. c. Not subject to arbitrary interference by a government: a free press. 4. a. Not affected or restricted by a given condition or circumstance: a healthy animal, free of disease; free from need. b. Not subject to a given condition; exempt: income that is free of all taxes. 5. Not subject to external restraint: "Comment is free but facts are sacred" (Charles Prestwich Scott). 6. Not literal or exact: a free translation. 7. a. Costing nothing; gratuitous: a free meal. b. Publicly supported: free education. 8. a. Not occupied or used: a free locker. b. Not taken up by scheduled activities: free time between classes. 9. Unobstructed; clear: a free lane. 10. Unguarded in expression or manner; open; frank. 11. Taking undue liberties; forward or overfamiliar. 12. Liberal or lavish: tourists who are free with their money. 13. Given, made, or done of one's own accord; voluntary or spontaneous: a free act of the will; free choices. 14. Chemistry & Physics a. Unconstrained; unconfined: free expansion. b. Not fixed in position; capable of relatively unrestricted motion: a free electron. c. Not chemically bound in a molecule: free oxygen. d. Involving no collisions or interactions: a free path. e. Empty: a free space. f. Unoccupied: a free energy level. 15. Nautical Favorable: a free wind. 16. Not bound, fastened, or attached: the free end of a chain. 17. Linguistics a. Being a form, especially a morpheme, that can stand as an independent word, such as boat or bring. b. Being a vowel in an open syllable, as the o in go. adv. 1. In a free manner; without restraint. 2. Without charge. tr.v. freed, freeing, frees 1. To set at liberty; make free: freed the slaves; free the imagination. 2. To relieve of a burden, obligation, or restraint: a people who were at last freed from fear. 3. To remove obstructions or entanglements from; clear: free a path through the jungle. Idiom: for free Informal Without charge. [Middle English fre, from Old English fr fr o. V., from Middle English freen, from Old English

on, to love, set free; see pr - in Indo-European roots.]

free ly adv. free ness n.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Free, as defined herein, specifically within definitions one, two, three and five specify that freedom is the state of being at liberty, absence of control by obligation or the will of another, having independence, governed by consent, not subject to interference, specifically by a government or external restraint. Freedom can be construed as the unfettered ability to have mastery over ones actions and lifestyle.
state (st t) n. 1. A condition or mode of being, as with regard to circumstances: a state of confusion. 2. A condition of being in a stage or form, as of structure, growth, or development: the fetal state. 3. A mental or emotional condition: in a manic state. 4. Informal A condition of excitement or distress. 5. Physics The condition of a physical system with regard to phase, form, composition, or structure: Ice is the solid state of water. 6. Social position or rank. 7. Ceremony; pomp: foreign leaders dining in state at the White House. 8. a. The supreme public power within a sovereign political entity. b. The sphere of supreme civil power within a given polity: matters of state. 9. A specific mode of government: the socialist state. 10. A body politic, especially one constituting a nation: the states of Eastern Europe. 11. One of the more or less internally autonomous territorial and political units composing a federation under a sovereign government: the 48 contiguous states of the Union. adj. 1. Of or relating to a body politic or to an internally autonomous territorial or political unit constituting a federation under one government: a monarch dealing with state matters; the department that handles state security. 2. Owned and operated by a state: state universities. tr.v. stated, stating, states To set forth in words; declare.

[Middle English, from Old French estat, from Latin status; see st - in Indo-European roots.]

stat able, state able adj. Synonyms: state, condition, situation, status These nouns denote the mode of being or form of existence of a person or thing: an old factory in a state of disrepair; a jogger in healthy condition; a police officer responding to a dangerous situation; the uncertain status of the peace negotiations. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. Within the context of state as defined herein utilizing definitions two, ten and eleven, states carry three meanings: in definition two, state is defined within philosophical context; a state of being (for instance, John Lockes state of nature) as a situational condition for all of human kind, with militias allowing for society to uphold the Lockean proviso (Locke states that individuals have a right to private property from nature provided that they invest time and effort into improving it, and that they can do so only where there is enough, and as good, left in common for others (Nozick, 1974: 175, referencing Locke, 1689). In definition ten, state could be referring to the nation of the United States of America, and therefore utilizing the militia as a national defense. In definition eleven, state explicitly refers to the more or less internally autonomous territorial and political units composing a federation under a sovereign government: the 48 contiguous states of the Union; under this definition, militias are given authority to ensure the protection of state bodies within the United States of America.

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, within the definitions laid out previously of regulate, militia, necessary, security, free and state can be interpreted as follows: people who have had experience and training with firearms are an invaluable asset to create and uphold peace and order within society and political structures, especially when they are in an organized group. They are an integral part to the mechanisms of (specifically within the context of the United States of America) a societal and political structure that allows for individual and collective expression, especially pertaining to the pursuit of individual and collective goals, that we (the bodies that ratified the Bill of Rights, and also all current citizens of the United States of America by recognition of American citizenship) firmly believe in their right to exist within the geographical confines of the United States of America. I would love to have a good debate about the Second Amendment within contemporary society and also historical context, but I would rather not with someone who resorts to vague, off-hand remarks regarding my level of education, or that of a specific demographic. I am not right wing at all, actually, and am currently residing in a country that could be considered a socialist state. My interpretation of the Constitution of the United States of America and the Bill of Rights is my own, but is shared by many in the United States. As a student of history, I firmly believe that George Santayana was right: those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. The Second Amendment, like every amendment written into the Bill of Rights that ratifies the United States Constitution, was written for a reason and was purpose driven; our founding fathers and politicians believed that America could become a great nation and uphold the common ideals of liberty, equality and justice for all. Thats why we as America is known as the land of the free, and the home of the brave, and our national anthem proudly declares that we strive to be different-better then the rest. As Americans we need to take a good hard look at history, and accept that being American is a privilege and not an inherent right; we arent entitled to anything that we didnt work hard for, and it is our duty as individuals who are protected under a nation that affords us such wide-sweeping liberties to reach out and aid those who are needy, protect those who are otherwise unable to protect themselves. We need to hold ourselves accountable for societal actions; if our government is spending too much money and we dont like it, then we voice our concerns and we make them change it. The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights are the documents that allow the people of the United States to exercise their collective will to direct the public servants that are our politicians to shape our country for the better. The question is, what precedent does the American public set by letting a constitutional right become undermined to the point of redundancy? What will happen to the rest of them if we as a population allow our lawmakers to deprive law-abiding American citizens the ability to exercise a constitutional right in a time of need? What, to you, is the price of liberty and freedom from oppression? A quote from Edmund Burke delicately frames our current situation: When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle(Burke, 1770). So, whats freedom worth to you?