Infringe v: Act so as to limit or undermine (something); encroach on. The second amendment was not discussed in the deliberations of the constitution. The Court then considered the Second Amendments prefatory clause, [a] well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, and determined that while this clause announces a purpose for recognizing an individual right to keep and bear arms, it does not limit the operative clause. The right to bear arms was originally seen as a check against the potential tyranny of the new Federal government as well as foreign invasion. Discussions and deliberations took place during debates to add the bill of rights. The Second Amendment slams that door closed. The word arms in the Second Amendment is crucial and must be understood correctly. In full, the amendment reads, rather murkily, "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Simply put, federal government may not constitutionally act in any way that limits the right to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendments operative clause refers to the right of the people. We conducted another search in COFEA for documents that referenced arms in the context of rights . the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. The Second Amendment reads: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. For a definition of today's militia as defined, by statute, in the United States Code, bearing arms probably did not refer to the mere carrying or hunting with arms. It gives the right to bear arms in the US, especially for the organization of state militias. [2] That bearing arms involves the public carrying of arms to some extent is clear enough, but to whom the right extends, where it extends, and in what manner remains unsettled. The amendment reads: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. Arms meant weapons of offence and armor of defense. Arms The Second Amendment protects the right of the people to keep and bear Arms. [1] In recent times, what it means to bear arms has become the subject of some debate. The Second Amendment is part of the US Bill of Rights. In 1775, Samuel Johnson provided the following definition of the word arms, likely the definition intended by the founding fathers. There is voluminous records from these discussions including state legilatures considering ratification of the constitution and subsequently the bill of rights. Vermont chimed in with a proposed Amendment exactly identical to the future text of the Second Amendment, arguing for an Amendment reading: "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.