[Dylan16807]

> Notably, you don’t need to be a member of the press to exercise a right to free speech.

The first amendment says congress can't abridge freedom of speech OR freedom of the press. So obviously you don't need one to exercise the other.

The second amendment has much worse wording.

[tpmoney]

It has different wording but I feel like it’s only difficult because of the politics and emotions attached to it. If it said instead:

“A thriving community of professional musicians, being essential to the existence of great art, the right of the people to keep and play musical instruments shall not be infringed.”

I really don’t think anyone would be arguing that it restricts the right to keep and play musical instruments only to people who are already professional musicians.

[Dylan16807]

A rule saying you already need to be a professional is unreasonable in this scenario. But I think a rule that you have to engage with the community of musicians if you want to have a musical instrument could probably coexist with that wording.

[tpmoney]

If we go down that route, the "militia" in the US is divided into the "organized" militia, which is effectively the National Guard forces, and the "unorganized" militia, which is everyone not in the "organized" militia and are:

> able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States

So I'm not sure "a rule the you have to engage with the militia" is going to get any better of a reading on the 2nd amendment from an "individual" vs "some group of people defined by the government that aren't 'the People' of every other part of the constitution" perspective.

[Dylan16807]

Where did you get that definition?

And wouldn't "well-regulated" mean organized?

> "a rule the you have to engage with the militia"

To be clear, I was not implying that wording. You changed the musician version too much to swap out single words like that.

[tpmoney]

Where did I get the definition of the militia? The US Code: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/246

As far as I know that’s been the definition at least since the 50s though I’m pretty sure at least the “able-bodied males 18-45” part has been around even longer

[dragonwriter]

> Where did I get the definition of the militia? The US Code

You can't look to the US Code for definitions of terms in the Constitution; the US Code definition applies to the portion of the US Code that that definition is applicable to, but (except where the Constitution expressly gives Congress the power to define something) cannot define terms in the Constitution, otherwise, Congress could simply rewrite the Constitution by redefining the language used in it, and would never need to use the more difficult process of Constitutional Amendments.