The second amendment states simply "in order to maintain a well-regulated militia, the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed". The purpose of this amendment was to provide arms for a rapidly available military force in the form of citizen-soldiers in the event of attack. This was the reality of 1791; the British would invade and the citizen-soldier was ready to defend the new nation. Over two hundred years later, the role of the militia has been assumed by the National Guard, Reserves, active Military, and a variety of law enforcement agencies. The debate about an individual's right to own firearms for individual purposes is not relevant to the purpose or nature of the second amendment. It seems to be that the five justices in the majority might not have scored well in the reading comprehension portion of the LSAT.