What does the 2nd Amendment REALLY mean?

The exact words of the 2nd amendment are as follows:

A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be
infringed.

This simple language has been interpreted in many ways by many people. Most of these people are highly educated and well meaning but, they have missed the entire point of the amendment. Thomas Jefferson said "No Free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms". In its simplest form, the words of the amendment say all that needs to be said. Beyond that, there are arguments as to what that freedom entails.

I suggest that the right to keep and bear arms is expressly for the purpose of protecting the citizenry from the tyranny of an over-reaching government. This is complicit with the following statement by James Madison "Americans have the right and advantage of being armed - unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." This is the foundation of the right to bear arms. With gun ownership legal, there remains laws that restrict the rights of free men to keep arms.

Consider for a moment, if the federal government decided to move in a direction that was in direct contrast of the will of the people. If then martial law is imposed upon the people and there is a declaration to obtain all registered firearms from the citizenry, who then would have control of all of the weapons in the US. I submit that only the military and the criminals would then be armed. Who then is protected from tyranny or criminal mischief?

Surely the founding fathers knew what it was like to live in such a time as this, when there were no protections, when the government controlled everything and there only way out was to declare independence. These are the protections that the founders put in place to insure "We the People" would never have to face the same tribulations.

Ask yourself what gun registration really does. Are there fewer guns in the hands of criminals or in the hands of law abiding citizens? Would restricting firearm sales reduce the number of guns on the street? Are there less drugs available because they are illegal or are they simply more expensive? Simply, by restricting firearm ownership, those who would own them legally are only at a disadvantage to those who obtain them illegally.

Please share your opinions in the comment section as I am interested to hear the debate on this issue.

Don