text: Actually, when you study what the Founders said on this issue, the militia was all the armed men of the community and the men were meant to be armed because the Founder distrusted even the government they were setting up and figured someday, the militia would need to defend the people against the government. Go on! Read a book. Do some historical study. Even the most statist Founders held the opinion that being armed as a private citizen was a necessity for the protection of society. It wasn't for hunting or home defense; it was because they assumed every government would eventually become tyrannical and require a citizen's uprising. Some figured it might take a long time to get to that point while Thomas Jefferson thought it should happen every 20 years or so. But they pretty much all thought it would happen eventually.