>I didn't say the founders' intent should be venerated, or even necessarily taken into account.
Hm. I'm a little confused. How can you make a claim about what the intention of the clause was ("Actually, that is exactly what it was intended to mean") without claiming that Founder's intent should be taken into account?
Additionally, it's not pertinent to disclude the "explanator preamble" because, as you say, it's explanatory. The clause and the Amendment itself comes before an Amedment that speaks of quartering troops in peace time. It's clear that the writers intended the clause to be read in the context of militas.
"Equally anachronistically, individual rightists read “the people” to mean atomized private persons, each hunting in his own private Idaho, rather than the citizenry acting collectively. But when the original Constitution spoke of “the people” rather than “persons,” the collective connotation was primary. In the Preamble, “the People” ordained and established the Constitution as public citizens meeting together in conventions and acting in concert, not as private individuals pursuing their respective hobbies.”
[..]
“Founding history confirms a republican reading of the Second Amendment, whose framers generally envisioned Minutemen bearing guns, not Daniel Boone gunning bears. When we turn to state constitutions, we consistently find arms-bearing and militia clauses intertwined with rules governing standing armies, troop-quartering, martial law, and civilian supremacy. A similar pattern may be seen in the famous English Bill of Rights of 1689, where language concerning the right to arms immediately followed language condemning unauthorized standing armies in peacetime. Individual-rights advocates cannot explain this clear pattern that has everything to do with the military and nothing to do with hunting. Yet states’ rightists also make a hash of these state constitutional provisions, many of which used language very similar to the Second Amendment to affirm rights against state governments.”
Amar, Akhail-Reed. "America's Consitution: A Biography." 736-737
I'm not making any claim about how the clause "should" be read, only pointing out that the current reading of it was decidedly not the intention of the writers themselves. Further, to pull it out of context and make a claim about its meaning 'full stop' is to ignore the nuance of the document as well what those words would have meant when the document was drafted.
> How can you make a claim about what the intention of the clause was ("Actually, that is exactly what it was intended to mean") without claiming that Founder's intent should be taken into account?
It depends on whether the question on the table is, "What did the founders think?" or "Should what the founders thought carry any weight?" The intent is obviously salient to the first question, not necessarily to the second.
> It's clear that the writers intended the clause to be read in the context of militas.
No, it is manifestly unclear. That is the only reason we're arguing about it, because it's unclear.
It depends on whether the question on the table is, "What did the founders think?" or "Should what the founders thought carry any weight?" The intent is obviously salient to the first question, not necessarily to the second.
The question on the table is "What did the Founders think?" I pretented cited, historical evidence of the context of the clause which make clear what the Founders thought. We're arguing about it because you do not find that evidence compelling, and I'm attempting to tease out where you've gotten your facts about this intent. I'll have to dig up the SCOTUS case for the DC handgun ban being overturned (2007?) to see why Roberts believed in an individual right, or believed that it was to be found in the Founder's intent. You appear to be basing yours on our 2015 grammar rules, which doesn't quite cut it if we're going all way back to 1787. Also, keep it mind it was manifestly clear for years before it was challenged in court :)
Hm. I'm a little confused. How can you make a claim about what the intention of the clause was ("Actually, that is exactly what it was intended to mean") without claiming that Founder's intent should be taken into account?
Additionally, it's not pertinent to disclude the "explanator preamble" because, as you say, it's explanatory. The clause and the Amendment itself comes before an Amedment that speaks of quartering troops in peace time. It's clear that the writers intended the clause to be read in the context of militas.
"Equally anachronistically, individual rightists read “the people” to mean atomized private persons, each hunting in his own private Idaho, rather than the citizenry acting collectively. But when the original Constitution spoke of “the people” rather than “persons,” the collective connotation was primary. In the Preamble, “the People” ordained and established the Constitution as public citizens meeting together in conventions and acting in concert, not as private individuals pursuing their respective hobbies.” [..] “Founding history confirms a republican reading of the Second Amendment, whose framers generally envisioned Minutemen bearing guns, not Daniel Boone gunning bears. When we turn to state constitutions, we consistently find arms-bearing and militia clauses intertwined with rules governing standing armies, troop-quartering, martial law, and civilian supremacy. A similar pattern may be seen in the famous English Bill of Rights of 1689, where language concerning the right to arms immediately followed language condemning unauthorized standing armies in peacetime. Individual-rights advocates cannot explain this clear pattern that has everything to do with the military and nothing to do with hunting. Yet states’ rightists also make a hash of these state constitutional provisions, many of which used language very similar to the Second Amendment to affirm rights against state governments.”
Amar, Akhail-Reed. "America's Consitution: A Biography." 736-737
I'm not making any claim about how the clause "should" be read, only pointing out that the current reading of it was decidedly not the intention of the writers themselves. Further, to pull it out of context and make a claim about its meaning 'full stop' is to ignore the nuance of the document as well what those words would have meant when the document was drafted.