Well Regulated

Received via "Comments":

Does the word "regulated" in the 2A mean as used today, to control or direct, or does it mean well equipped? I have been told that at the time of the writing of the Bill of Rights regulated meant well equipped.

Both. Others say precision-adjusted like a clock.

The Militia Act of 1792 specified required gear including:

...a good musket or firelock, a sufficient bayonet and belt, two spare flints, and a knapsack, a pouch, with a box therein, to contain not less than twenty four cartridges, suited to the bore of his musket or firelock, each cartridge to contain a proper quantity of power and ball; or with a good rifle, knapsack, shot-pouch, and power-horn, twenty balls suited to the bore of his rifle, and a quarter of a power of powder... 

The Militia clauses in the Constitution calls "for organizing, arming, and disciplining ... and for governing."   Hamilton explains his understanding in Federalist 29.

My key takeaway:

“To oblige the great body of the yeomanry, and of the other classes of the citizens, to be under arms for the purpose of going through military exercises and evolutions, as often as might be necessary to acquire the degree of perfection which would entitle them to the character of a well-regulated militia, would be a real grievance to the people, and a serious public inconvenience and loss...Little more can reasonably be aimed at, with respect to the people at large, than to have them properly armed and equipped…”

In other words, we are entitled to what even modern courts have recognized as "ordinary military equipment" that is "in common use at the time" and "that its use could contribute to the common defense."

Once they show up for militia duty, citizens are subject to discipline. But the equipment they keep and bear in everyday life is not what is "regulated" and, significantly, there is no delegated power to allow for an override of "shall not be infringed."

(I didn't post this as a reply in "Comments" because I require those to stay on the topic being offered for discussion. That and if it were buried beneath a post, it wouldn't get enough eyeballs to be worth the work. I'm happy to try to answer questions, so please use the contact form in the left sidebar.)