Cessante ratione legis cessat ipsa lex--When the reason for the law ceases, the law itself ceases.
It is as applicable to modern life as laws allowing for trial by ordeal.
If anything, my interaction with the commenters, in particular TS, here has solidified this opinion.
People wish to ignore the militia aspect of the amendment, people misunderstand the concept of the militia.
People wish to claim militia status who have no idea of being enrolled or muster lists. Let alone there hasn't been a muster day in well over 150 years.
Add in that we have a standing army. To quote Elbridge Gerry:
What, sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. Now, it must be evident, that, under this provision, together with their other powers, Congress could take such measures with respect to a militia, as to make a standing army necessary.Or Patrick Henry:
A standing army we shall haveThe Militia has been replaced by a very large standing military with all the evils that the founders warned. So much for the Second Amendment and its guaranty. That guarantee is so meaningless and lost in the passage of time.
As I said, Cessante ratione legis cessat ipsa lex--When the reason for the law ceases, the law itself ceases.
The Second Amendment is as irrelevant to modern life as the Articles of Confederation.
As such, it has no validity or applicability in modern life.
A standing army we shall have
