Ah, you finally get it.
"Congress declared me a militia member - so presumably they mean federal militia"
What makes you presume that?
"The Constitution says I can keep and bear arms."
Ah, no, it doesn't. The U.S. Constitution says your right to keep and bear arms may not be infringed by the federal government.
"closest is Miller, so maybe I'm limited to current standard military arms"
Yeah, maybe.
So, what is it? Anything you want or militia-type arms? You just making this up as you go along?
"So why can't I get one?"
That is up to your state. As I said before.
"Your line of reasoning doesn't leave any individual right to exercise"
Your individual right to keep and bear arms for any purpose is protected by your state.
> > "Then it's not much of a right, is it?"
> Ah, you finally get it.
What, that the Founding Fathers went thru the trouble of enumerating a right that really doesn't do anything? Courts regularly observe that whatever is law was not meant to be interpreted in a trivializing manner.
> > "Congress declared me a militia member - so presumably they mean federal militia"
> What makes you presume that?
Um...the fact that Congress declared me a militia member, with no reference to state militas? Surely you don't think the feds were telling Georgia that they have to accept me as part of the Georgia State Guard.
> > "The Constitution says I can keep and bear arms."
> Ah, no, it doesn't.
"the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Thought you knew about that one. Even if we allow a state can infringe on that, the feds explicitly can't. Even if we grant your view that it is limited to militia members serving as the gov't sees fit, that means that I - a Congressionally declared militia member, with neither directive to get something in particular nor restricted in what i can get - can at minimum keep and bear militia-suitable arms (like an M4). You keep saying the 2A only restricts the feds; if that means what you say, then (state restrictions aside, as Georgia has none) the BoR tells the feds that they can't limit my right to keep and bear arms (that's what it says, rob). I _AM_ a declared member of whatever militia Congress was referring to (obviously not referring to state, so what militia is it, rob?).
> The U.S. Constitution says your right to keep and bear arms may not be infringed by the federal government.
Bingo. 922(o) infringes my right to keep and bear arms (particularly, an M4) which are plainly standard issue to modern US soldiers. Georgia doesn't restrict my right to have one, so why can't I just drive over to Clyde Armory and pick up one cash paid?
> > "closest is Miller, so maybe I'm limited to current standard military arms"
> Yeah, maybe.
> So, what is it? Anything you want or militia-type arms?
I'm talking about getting my own personal M4, plainly militia-type.
> > "So why can't I get one?"
> That is up to your state. As I said before.
My state has no problem with me owning an M4. It's only the feds in the way.
> Your individual right to keep and bear arms for any purpose is protected by your state.
Yes, it is in fact. So why can't I buy an M4? Credit card in hand, I'll head right over now to get one. Oh, that's right, the BATFE will say I can't have one, because the feds forbid it via 922(o).