Does an American citizen have a constitutional right to own a gun?

Here's what the Second Amendment says.

A well-regulated militia,

being necessary to the security of a free state,

the right of the people to keep in bear arms shall not be infringed.

Now, at once seemed to me like that language only protected state militias and not individuals.

Indeed, this is the view held by the four dissenting Supreme Court justices

in the 2008 case of District of Columbia versus Heller,

a landmark case dealing with gun ownership.

But the more research I did, the more I came to realize that my initial view was mistaken

and that the founders were in fact securing an individual right.

The five justices who voted to affirm the right to own a gun in DC versus Heller

had indeed made the correct decision.

Let's look at the amendment one more time.

A well-regulated militia,

being necessary to the security of a free state,

the right of the people to keep in bear arms shall not be infringed.

We first need to focus on the phrase,

the right of the people.

Note that the people are the only ones who's right is secured here,

not the militia or a state government.

This phrase, the right of the people,

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