Readiness to take the field.

A little bit of reality on the issue of an armed citizenry:

Regardless of whether the courts today would honor the Founders’ belief in a personal right to arms, the philosophical and public policy issues underlying that belief remain. Might it not still be the case that the costs of widespread firearms availability must be endured if we are to maintain the conditions necessary to preserve a free society?

To understand the reasoning of those who framed the Second Amendment, we need to comprehend their view of social behavior, based upon their distinctive interpretation of history and their own political experience. In essence they believed the lesson taught by both history and experience was that an armed citizenry is both necessary against the perennial threat of tyrannical government, and the ultimate protection against foreign invasion.

"Weapons, Technology and Legitimacy. The Second Amendment in Global Perspective." William Marina, The Independent Institute, 1/1/83 (emphasis added).

See also: “The Arms of All The People Should Be Taken Away.” By Stephen Halbrook, The Independent Insitute, 1/1/89 ("As we celebrate the Bicentennial of the Bill of Rights, evidence has been discovered that shows the Second Amendment was prompted by British plans to disarm each and every American.")