[ExI] Upon pondering your freedoms

[Damien Broderick]

At 10:53 PM 7/4/2008 -0700, Spike wrote:

>Five of the nine supreme court
>justices ruled recently that the "right to keep and bear arms shall not be
>infringed" means exactly what it says.  We have reason to be optimistic.
>Now if we can boot the four who apparently do not understand the meaning of
>shall not be infringed

I wonder if you could clarify one small point, Spike, for the sake of 
a visiting outlander. What was meant by that strangely anomalous 
opening passage "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the 
security of a free state"? I just can't make out what it can possibly 
be doing there in a statement of *individual* freedom that otherwise, 
as you indicate, is so uncompromising and clearcut.

Damien Broderick