So you are saying we should take up arms to resist what you describe as tyrannical behavior on the part of the government?

Whether you consider it a collective or an individual right, the Second Amendment was intended not only to provide for the common defense but also as a check on federal government tyranny. The people are charged with not only protecting their country but with safeguarding the rights protected by the Constitution.

The government has only the powers granted to it by the people. The U.S. Constitution defines and limits those powers. The powers not granted to the federal government are reserved to the states and to the people themselves.

Like the First Amendment, the Second Amendment does not grant a right. It prohibits the government from restricting what were seen as natural rights that not only existed before the formation of the United States but exist independently of the Constitution.

Like the First Amendment (and the Third Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment, etc.), the Second Amendment works exactly as advertised.

Always remember that the government of the United States is us. The clowns in Washington are there because we sent them, just like the clowns in 50 state capitols. The Constitution provides us with two methods of controlling the government: the ballot box and the bullet box.