1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.

(a) The Amendment�€™s prefatory clause announces a purpose, but does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative clause. The operative clause�€™s text and history demonstrate that it connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms.
(b) The prefatory clause comports with the Court�€™s interpretation of the operative clause. The �€œmilitia�€� comprised all males physically capable of acting in concert for the common defense. The Antifederalists feared that the Federal Government would disarm the people in order to disable this citizens�€™ militia, enabling a politicized standing army or a select militia to rule. The response was to deny Congress power to abridge the ancient right of individuals to keep and bear arms, so that the ideal of a citizens�€™ militia would be preserved.