"Why do you need an AR15?"

[NugginFutz]

With respect to the Constitution and, in this specific instance, the document known as the Bill of Rights, context is absolutely key in understanding the motivations behind these cornerstones of American civilization. I should not need to remind anyone here that the bad taste of King George was fresh in the mouths of framers of our government's Constitution and, later, the enumeration of our rights. They were throwing off the rule of a tyrant and clearly wanted to protect themselves from such forms of government for all time to come.

Within the Bill of Rights, it is noteworthy that the first nine of the ten original articles were explicitly used to carve out the rights of the individual, explicitly protecting them from actions of the Government. Only when we get to article ten do we get to hear about the powers of the Government, and then how they are limited to only what is explicitly assigned to the Government by the Constitution itself.

But how article ten does this is important. It says that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people".

Notice how it clearly references the United States, the states and the people. They are being treated as separate entities, with distinct and separate powers, protections and rights. This is key, in that it supports the understanding of the Article 2's wording, where both the state and the people are mentioned. This is done, and quite deliberately, to delineate these entities as being apart from the Government (United States).

To the point: The 2nd amendment is discussing the importance of the individual state and the rights of the people. Because both are being mentioned within this amendment, each has their own assignment therein: The state, a militia, and the people, its right to bear arms. The Government (United States) is not mentioned here, so a Standing Army is not the reason for this amendment.

It is further noteworthy that Madison, along with the other authors of the Bill of Rights, found it uniquely important to imbue the 2nd amendment with the phrase "shall not be infringed." Without reverting to cliché, it means what it says. It is a right that is not to be altered or ignored.

So, that's my take on the Bill of Rights and why we can act on our perceived "Need for an AR15".