Why do people think that the 2nd amendment says they can have guns?

Militia is made up of private citizens, not government employees.

"the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

It does not say that the right of the militia to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. It says the right of the people.

It is unclear what the writers of the amendment intended, but it does say that the right to bear arms shall not be infringed. That part is very clear. Look at the date it was written and you may get your answer about the first part of it. It does not say that gun ownership can only be done if it is the militia. I own a handgun and a rifle. I hope to never have to use the handgun, but it offers me some sense of security should someone break into my home when I am there and may put my life in danger. The word people mean civilians. I disagree with you on that point.

It says we can have guns for 3 reasons:

1. The Bill of Rights is not about giving rights to government. It is about restricting powers of government. It says right in the Amendment "The right of the PEOPLE..." Just like those same people whose individual rights are protected when "the people" are mentioned in the 1st, 4th, 9th, and 10th Amendments. Why does "the people" in the 2nd Amendment not mean the people? Why does it alone mean "the government."

2. The military has no need to guarantee it's own right to keep arms.

3. The Militia is not a government organization. It is NOT the State or National Guard. Those entities did not exist until about 100 years AFTER the Bill of Rights was ratified. Militias are groups of citizen that organize, arm and train themselves.

So look at the flow of the 2nd Amendment. It states the reason for the right, and then it states the right. It's as simple as that.

Militia means civilian. The Army, Air Force, National Guard, Coast Guard, Secret Service, FBI, BATF, and other parts of the federal government are most certainly not militias. Only civilians can form militias. So obvious the second amendment applies to civilians. It wouldn't make sense to include and amendment saying the federal government has the right to keep and bear arms. Every federal government in the world does that.

The militia was made up of private citizens. It also says "the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

People think the 2nd amendment says they can have guns because it DOES say they can have guns.

Most of what needs said has been.

The term "the People" is used over 20 times in the Constitution and the Amendments, in NO other instance does it refer to the government, any government run entity such as a National Guard or any other military, nor anything other than an ordinary American citizen.

The Constitution is not so much about giving rights, it is more about limiting the government.

When has any government needed some piece of paper to authorize it's military to actually use guns. As if our army wouldn't be allowed to carry or use a gun if the 2nd amendment didn't exist.

To think this amendment pertained only to any sort of military entity, or that the 2nd didn't apply to everyone in the nation just like all the other rights, is not logical

The Bill of Rights addresses the rights of the individual, the phrase 'right of the people' refers to the rights of the individual, not the collective. The phrase is used also in the 1st and the 4th amendments, and there it refers to the right of the individual, why would it have a different meaning in the 2nd amendment? The 2nd Amendment protects our right to keep and bear arms.

Well, according to 200,000 million people armed in 60 million households, the supreme court, the American Law Review, and countless legal scholars you are wrong. In fact they have letters from the authors that say exactly what they meant. They wanted to make sure that their new government would never be threatened by foreign takeover through vote manipulation according to the letters. They had evidence the Brit's were planing it.

if you want to play that card the constitution never says seperation of church and state

"congress shall make no laws regarding religion"

militia- a body of citizens organized in a paramilitary group and typically regarding themselves as defenders of individual rights against the presumed interference of the federal government

CITIZENS, not military hauss

It says "The Right of the people to keep, and bear arms shall not be infringed"

Also a militia is an army of average citizens who are armed.