Little more can reasonably be aimed at, with respect to the people at large, than to have them properly armed and equipped; and in order to see that this be not neglected, it will be necessary to assemble them once or twice in the course of a year.
Yes, he goes on to make a case for a select militia as being more practical than trying to turn the whole population into a well-drilled fighting force ... yet nonetheless he notes that a self-armed general population is indeed reasonable and desirable.
See my #180.