Why is the militia clause there at all?

Eugene Volokh continues the legal obfuscation for gun rights.

The question that I've never found an answer to:

If the Second Amendment's right to bear arms has nothing to do with a well-regulated militia, why is the militia clause there at all?

They could have simply written, "The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."

Like they did in...hmmm...is there any example we can think of? Oh, yeah, like in the First Amendment.

They didn't.

Comments

[Steve]

In 1787, when the constitution was written, the militia were made up of the people, who were called to duty when necessary, just like our current national guard. But in those days, the individuals owned the weapons, not the government. Small point, but you have to take that into consideration. It's important to put things in historical context.