That particular phrase has never been satisfactorily explained. And prollly cannot be.
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the free state, the right of the PEOPLE to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Now at the time this amendment was passed, there was a clear difference between the uniform military and the militia. Not to mention the word PEOPLE, not military, not militia, was used. The people was used for a reason, and it was not strictly the military or strictly the militia that had the right to bear arms in the first 200 years of this country...so have we just got this amendment wrong for the 200 years? Language in a court is quite clear using the word PEOPLE. But did our founding fathers...who had a problem with a standing army, actually mean for the army or the locally organized militia to only have the right to bear arms?
Oh I wasn't referring to the "people" part, but to the subordinate clause at the beginning.
Nor do you have the text quite right.
Clearly the first comma is superfluous and we can disregard it. Which leaves:
"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."
Which means:
"
Given (the premise that) a well regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free State,
therefore..."
It's a conditional clause. "If A, then B".
That's not the weird part though. The weird part is --------------------------- why is it even there?
No other Amendment anywhere feels the need to explain or justify itself. Why this one, alone among all of them? A Constitution simply declares "this is how it's gonna be". It has no need to
explain anything. And yet ----- there it is.