The Bill of Rights can only be read one way..."that it applies to each and every person as an individual".
The idea that you have to be a part of a "militia group" or a religious "group" to have these rights is false.
Along with this we've always heard that having a standing army fulfills the 2A requirement and private gun ownership is obsolete. This is wrong on so many levels it's hard to tackle but I'll try.
Politicians can't work-around the Constitution; if they want to change it, they're required to go the amendment/repeal process which, in the case of the Bill of Rights, they...well...can't.
The Bill of Rights is intended for the people therefore the second cannot logically be reinterpreted to enable the government to have an army. There already was an army when the Bill of Rights was ratified so that viewpoint is clearly fallacious. An army is Government Issue. Governments don't have "rights" they have powers.
Getting long-winded here; I'll quit now.
If we read the Militia Act of 1792 we will have a better understanding what is meant by militia.
I. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That each and every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respective States, resident therein, who is or shall be of age of eighteen years, and under the age of forty-five years (except as is herein after excepted) shall severally and respectively be enrolled in the militia, by the Captain or Commanding Officer of the company, within whose bounds such citizen shall reside, and that within twelve months after the passing of this Act. And it shall at all time hereafter be the duty of every such Captain or Commanding Officer of a company, to enroll every such citizen as aforesaid, and also those who shall, from time to time, arrive at the age of 18 years, or being at the age of 18 years, and under the age of 45 years (except as before excepted) shall come to reside within his bounds; and shall without delay notify such citizen of the said enrollment, by the proper non-commissioned Officer of the company, by whom such notice may be proved. That every citizen, so enrolled and notified, shall, within six months thereafter, provide himself with 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 powder and ball; or with a good rifle, knapsack, shot-pouch, and powder-horn, twenty balls suited to the bore of his rifle, and a quarter of a pound of powder; and shall appear so armed, accoutred and provided, when called out to exercise or into service, except, that when called out on company days to exercise only, he may appear without a knapsack. That the commissioned Officers shall severally be armed with a sword or hanger, and espontoon; and that from and after five years from the passing of this Act, all muskets from arming the militia as is herein required, shall be of bores sufficient for balls of the eighteenth part of a pound; and every citizen so enrolled, and providing himself with the arms, ammunition and accoutrements, required as aforesaid, shall hold the same exempted from all suits, distresses, executions or sales, for debt or for the payment of taxes.
We need to be careful that we do not minimize the meaning of "militia" from a historical perspective as in itself provides certain rights and a broader meaning to the 2nd Amendment. The 2nd Amendment has be affirmed by the Supreme Court as being an individual right, but it is also a collective right. Imagine calling forth the Militia today to enforce our nation's laws, whether it be to enforce drug laws, stomp out crime in our cities or ousting illegal aliens. It would mean that all white, free men, 18 to 45 of a particular state or states be mustarded. I believe that if this practice did not go away years ago that we would have a much more civil society and there would be zero gun control laws. This would be independent of having a standing Army and Navy, but not mutually exclusive.