Nah, well related militia was not a restriction on the right, it was a reason for everyone to have the right. You have to remember that the Constitution doesn't give the people rights, it delineates the governments rights. The 1st 10 amendment's were added because the anti- federalists were (rightly) worried that the government would misappropriated all powers and eventually the people would no longer be free. They were basically a list of rights for a minimum viable free society.
The first part also provides a context for understanding the second part. For example the right to "bear" arms shouldn't be read as including a general right to brandish arms, even though a less constrained reading of "bear" might suggest that. Conversely, it does include a right to fire those arms, since that is necessary for a well regulated militia to bear them effectively.
I think it’s fair to question why out of the 10 amendments that make up the bill of rights, only the second amendment would have a part that is non-functional and “describes the rationale”. The preposition is part of the amendment, and its existence puts a qualification on what the right to bear arms means.
I personally think the current state of affairs does a pretty good job balancing the two parts of the amendment. States are allowed to put a lot of restrictions on how you can buy guns, and where you can carry/use them, but ultimately people are allowed to have them. You aren’t allowed a nuke, you are allowed a shotgun. Exactly what level of personal firepower should be allowed for a “well regulated militia” could be a constant source for debate, but I think the balance is kept pretty well.
> it’s fair to question why out of the 10 amendments that make up the bill of rights, only the second amendment would have a part that is non-functional and “describes the rationale”.
I know this is apostasy, but because the founders weren't omniscient beings that drafted perfect documents. Rather they were politicians basically just winging it while trying to come to some consensus. Critically, they lacked an understanding of the limitation of logical systems that would only be discovered in the 20th century - the repercussions of which are with us to this day.
> Exactly what level of personal firepower should be allowed for a “well regulated militia” could be a constant source for debate, but I think the balance is kept pretty well.
From the commoner's perspective, most explosives are basically illegal even though they could be responsibly kept by anyone with a little land. So no, I don't think any balance has been achieved. For starters, anything that a domestic-facing police department is allowed to have should be fair game for the rest of the People as well.
They put the qualifier on it because they felt extremely strong that the country should not have a standing military that could be used as a tool of oppression. Instead, they felt that it should have an armed citizenry, which could form an army in the event of a war.
The restrictions that some states put on gun purchases/ownership have are quite excessive and onerous, and may end up being struck down by a SCOTUS decision coming down within the next few months.
Every able-bodied American male 17 or older and under 45 is already a member of a well-regulated militia[1]. Now you may think Congress should ask more of the militia of the United States, but being a statutory organization certainly meets the well-regulated criteria.
Private gun-owning citizens are not automatically counted among active unorganized militia.
Even in the few active state militia they would be considered eligible, not members.
SCOTUS has had contradictory decisions in the past on whether private gun rights hinge on military applications of the specific firearms, but indeed this is the talking point - state militias.
Collectively, the people who parrot "Shall Not Be Infringed" are really trying to avoid the militia debate entirely.