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The Second Amendment is the only part of the Bill of Rights that has a introductory clause defining its purpose. Because a militia is "necessary to the security of a free state," the amendment says, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Some legal scholars interpret the first clause of the Second Amendment as giving the people the right to bear arms only as part of a "well regulated militia." To these scholars, such a militia would be today's National Guard, which is the modern-day successor to the minutemen of the colonial period. Other scholars emphasize that a militia, at the time of the adoption of the Bill of Rights, consisted of "the body of the people," as affirmed in several of the state resolutions proposing that a bill of rights be added to the Constitution.

The Second Amendment is the only part of the Bill of Rights that has a introductory clause defining its purpose. Because a militia is "necessary to the security of a free state," the amendment says, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Some legal scholars interpret the first clause of the Second Amendment as giving the people the right to bear arms only as part of a "well regulated militia." To these scholars, such a militia would be today's National Guard, which is the modern-day successor to the minutemen of the colonial period. Other scholars emphasize that a militia, at the time of the adoption of the Bill of Rights, consisted of "the body of the people," as affirmed in several of the state resolutions proposing that a bill of rights be added to the Constitution.