Where would Congress get the power to totally disarm the citizenry? Not even DC did that.
"If not, what could the government do in the absence of the Second Amendment that it cannot legitimately do in its presence?"
Well, we don't have state Militias as the primary military force anymore, so it's really hard to say. Given the current military arrangement, I don't any difference.
Where would Congress get the power to totally disarm the citizenry? Not even DC did that.
You didn't answer the question. Could the Congress use its powers over the militia to exclude anyone and everyone from it they didn't want to possess weapons? What would prevent them from doing so?