As a gun-toting redneck, this is what I think it means.

I think it means that we have an individual right to bear weapons. I do not believe that "the people" really means "the state." I do not, therefore, believe that the National Guard is sufficient to eliminate this as a personal right. OTOH, I think that this includes anything from a BB gun to a nuclear missile.

However, my further opinions have put me at odds with the rest of my family. I don't believe that the 2nd gives us a right to hunt, for example, or the right to defend our homes against intrusion with guns. Those may or may not be good uses for guns, but if they are protected by the Constitution (and I hope they are), then they are covered by the 9th amendment and not the 2nd. Nor is the purpose of the 2nd amendment to give people defense against their own government. That's called treason.

Clearly there's a problem here. The law was written long before anyone could have imagined weapons of mass destruction. I think it needs to be revised.

k