Editor:
"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." I read this as it being imperative for the people to be armed so as to have a well regulated miitia. It reinforces the premie that an armed citizenry is needed to protect a free state. From whom? The first shot fired in the Revolutionary War was fired to protect the guns and ammunition the colonists had stored to protect themselves from their own government, the British. Is it such a stretch to come to the conclusion that they wrote the Second Amendment to protect us in the same way?
Federalist #46, written by James Madison, explains exactly why the Second Amendment was written. Everyone should read it. It's not very long. Just Google "Federalist #46" and you can do it for yourself. What our founding fathers intended is very clear. You don't need the Supreme Court to decipher Federalist #46.
We already have many laws regulating gun ownership. How about we enforce the ones we have? And what about gun-free zones? They are an invitation to bad guys. Gun-free zones are where most of the mass shootings have occurred, such as malls, schools, hospitals, theaters, etc. How many of you are prepared to put a "gun free" sign in front of your house?
Arlene Orton
Dolores