The 2nd Amendment

"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 am always stricken by how many people focus on the latter part of this Amendment at the expense of the former. The Amendment could have read, "The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." 

It doesn't.

Rule of Construction #1 is that every word of a contract, law, regulation, etc., should be given meaning. As I pointed out above, the 2nd Amendment could have been shorter, more direct, and more to the point. It wasn't and it isn't.

The next time some NRA absolutist starts spouting off about his 2nd Amendment rights, perhaps my readers can calmly (and without making any sudden moves, lest you upset the delicate snowflake and get shot) direct him to the first part about "well-regulated" and ask this NRA absolutist to what degree he feels his right to bear arms should be regulated in order to be "well regulated" and within the confines of the 2nd Amendment.

Absent the well regulated part, it isn't a constitutional issue and is instead a policy decision made by our elected "leaders."