guns per capita
, that the Second Amendment right to bear arms extends to all citizens with few exceptions. That ruling was based on a dubious judicial theory known as “originalism.” The theory posits that modern-day judges should defer to the meaning of a statute as it was likely understood at the time of its enactment.
But according to those five conservative justices, only the last nine words mattered. They chose to simply ignore the first thirteen words. According to them, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed” meant that most every American citizen had the right to carry a gun wherever and whenever, with few exceptions. That ruling has become virtually sacrosanct, which is why we now lead the industrialized world in gun deaths.
In virtually every case, “bear arms” was used not in a civilian context but in a military one. So the Second Amendment right to bear arms was accorded only to citizens performing some military role, and the Founders made that clear by including the first part of the amendment, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State . . .”