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submitted 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) by DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
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[-] nocturne@slrpnk.net 23 points 15 hours ago

I always thought the 2nd was so the government had a militia to call upon should we be invaded.

[-] justdaveisfine@piefed.social 19 points 15 hours ago

It is, mostly.

It was basically the state's right to have an armed militia so that they may remain a free state.

[-] AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world 9 points 14 hours ago

The second amendment states "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." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution It gives the states the ability to have their own local military as well as private citizens the right to own weapons. Both of these were things the colonial power had outlawed prior to the revolution. The idea was to explicitly list things the previous tyrannical government had done to ensure the new government could not do the same thing. Now language and technology changes which leads to the current debate on gun rights in the USA.

Like isn't state guard a thing? Thats sound more like what they meant.

[-] Lemming6969@lemmy.world 2 points 4 hours ago

It's hard to read because of how it's written, but you likely have to read it backwards. People can bear arms, why, Because states may need a skilled well regulated militia.

[-] gdog05@lemmy.world 8 points 12 hours ago

That is exactly what I would argue. And many others of course. That's the "well regulated" purpose. They didn't mean a bunch of fucking idiots with a fetish. They meant the people could always band together to fight for their freedoms. Because the nation didn't have a standing army at the time. It was a volunteer militia that gained the freedoms to begin with.

[-] Not_mikey@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

should we be invaded

More to protect against native American raids in response to continued encroachment and slave rebellions. These are what militias are effective against.

A militia doesn't stand a chance against an organized european army, the revolution plainly proved that as the US was losing until they organized the Continental army and put Washington in charge.

this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2026
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