Presser v. Illinois. USSC, 1886:
"It is undoubtedly true that all citizens capable of bearing arms constitute the reserved military force or reserve militia of the United States as well as of the States, and, in view of this prerogative of the general government, as well as of its general powers, the States cannot, even laying the constitutional provision in question out of view, prohibit the people from keeping and bearing arms, so as to deprive the United States of their rightful resource for maintaining the public security, and disable the people from performing their duty to the general government."
The antis are eager to cite precedent whenever it suits their purpose, but they ignore it when it doesn't. IMHO in Presser the USSC set a pretty clear precedent for the 2nd Amendment's militia clause as a protector of the RKBA against violation by a state or local legislative body, but that precedent has been ignored by practically all 20th century federal courts. Although, if properly interpreted Miller doesn't contradict Presser at all. The court simply said that no evidence was presented to show that the firearm in Miller's possession had any utility as a militia weapon.
The rightful resource referred to is the power enjoyed by Congress under Article 1, Section 8, Clause 15: To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions...
>>>Although, if properly interpreted Miller doesn't contradict Presser at all. The court simply said that no evidence was presented to show that the firearm in Miller's possession had any utility as a militia weapon.<<<
Properly interpreted, Miller concludes that every citizen has a right to keep and bear and M-16.
In Presser the court did not rely on the 2nd Amendment's militia clause for it's declaration that a state could not deny it's citizens the RKBA. It only referenced the militia to show that the federal government has a vested interest in an armed militia in as much as the militia is the body of men from which the federal government obtains troops for it's armed forces.
In any event, it is still true that the cited portion of the Presser decision says that a state can't enact a law which denies it's citizens the RKBA, and that the restriction on the states is based on the federal government's power to raise it's armed forces from the body of citizens which comprise the militia.