I have been taught that this amendment was sought by several states after they felt that the new Federal Constitution would take away their rights to have a state militia. In my opinion, and the opinion of many constitutional scholars, this article protects the rights of the states to have militias. If our founding fathers meant to guarantee the right of the people to own guns, they would have stated explicitly that right, instead of referring to a well-regulated militia. We need laws that will penalize adults who allow children access to firearms. We need to stop the killing of our children, by our children.
Laws are part of the solution.
Dear SC, You place unwarranted emphasis on the Amendment's subordinate preamble while providing no evidence for your opinions. Perhaps it would be instructive to look at intellectual precedents of the Amendment, and to realize that their development into final form was an evolutionary process, subject to debate and revision. This also provides insight into what was common understanding at the time. I had forgot, the right of the people to bear arms. That this right applies to individuals was not only the common understanding, it was taken for granted.