Any weapon that can be carried, transported and operated by a single person as these are “arms”. Weapons that require more than one person to operate, or can not be carried by a single person are “ordnance”.
I am of the opinion that the 2nd directly permits arms and is silent on ordnance.
Me, too.
I'm confident weaponizing anthrax wasn't on the founders' radar.
Of course, neither was radar.
The fighting ships during the Revolutionary War were private ships (”Privateers”). With cannon and a fighting crew. No different than a B-52 today in many regards. I suppose one might be able to make a case against WMD’s, but not sure how.
The role of the 2nd Amendment was for self defense - both personal, community, and national. So today, to defend ourselves from a tyrannical government that would be willing and able to deploy WMD against the citizens, then I think if that’s what it would take to fight back would be okay. I have to admit though, I don’t like the idea of the next-door neighbor having a shed full of Sarin gas or something. I guess that might be where the states’ National Guard comes in?
You might recall some years back that the U.S. and the Soviet Union agreed to reduce the threat of having the "cold war" go hot. They mutually agreed to reduce the size of their nuclear armed bomber fleets and to destroy the excess bombers in a verifiable manner.
As I recall this was referred to as the "SALT" treaty; or the "Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty"; Strategic ARMS ; ARMS !
The Founders expected the people to form the Militia independent of the central government and the Second Amendment protected the right of the people to keep and bear ARMS in furtherance of that need; the Security of a Free State depended upon it.