My semi-educated take on that phrase is that it acknowledges the need for and the desirability of a citizen militia, not that it requires membership.
“My semi-educated take on that phrase is that it acknowledges the need for and the desirability of a citizen militia, not that it requires membership.”
Membership in the militia was mandatory and always had been mandatory in England and the American colonies. The phrase being discussed in the Second Amendment simply acknowledged the already existing militia required the continued possession of arms, as already required by law, to not be infringed in order to fulfill their traditional duties.