The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is Fundamental
The Second Amendment of the Constitution is a cornerstone of the Bill of Rights, a guarantee that the right of the people – individual citizens – to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Even accepting the argument that any civil right is subject to “reasonable regulation,” even Chief Justice John Roberts suggested that an outright ban is not “reasonable.”
Sign up for the OV Daily Newsletter
OV Social
If you would take a closer look at the changes the Founders made to the next-to-last version of the 2nd Amendment (see below), you'll see that they removed the language protecting individual right to bear arms:
They removed personal references and left the group nouns "people" and "militia":
EDITED OUT
Individuals: "... no law shall be passed for disarming the people or any of them ...."
Themselves: "... for the defence of themselves and their own State ..."
Why do you think they did that?
The final version:
"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."
The second-to-last version:
"The people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and their own State, or the United States, or for the purpose of killing game; and no law shall be passed for disarming the people or any of them, unless for crimes committed, or for real danger of public injury from individuals."
It follows that in this instant, the words "the people" likewise mean all people. That the amendment was shortened and broadened does not mean that it was not designed to mean "all people" when they wrote "the people."
Claiming otherwise is not supported by the facts.
The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.
When we consider the intent of the founders it is quite important to look not only to what the final form of the Constitution says but also the debate that went on as they worked towards that final version.