Gun Control & RKBA

Consider the text of the Uniform Militia Act, 1792-

"Arms" included the musket, items necessary to maintain it, ammunition, and gear to support using the weapon.

Knives- protected. Brass knuckles- no, the Court has previously ruled that only arms useful to militia service are protected. Nuclear bombs- no, arms above and beyond those used by a typical infantry soldier have always been the purview of the government controlling the militia.

When did the court rule it was a communal right? Constitutional scholars never believed it was anything but an individual right:

The prohibition is general. No clause in the Constitution could by any rule of construction be conceived to give to congress a power to disarm the people. Such a flagitious attempt could only be made under some general pretence by a state legislature. But if in any blind pursuit of inordinate power, either should attempt it, this amendment may be appealed to as a restraint on both.

William Rawle, A View of the Constitution of the United States of America 1825

The States are recognized as governments, and, when their own constitutions permit, may do as they please; provided they do not interfere with the Constitution and laws of the United States, or with the civil or natural rights of the people recognized thereby, and held in conformity to them. The right of every person to "life, liberty, and property," to "keep and bear arms," to the "writ of habeas corpus" to "trial by jury," and divers others, are recognized by, and held under, the Constitution of the United States, and cannot be infringed by individuals or even by the government itself.

Timothy Farrar, Manual of the Constitution of the United States of America 1872

It might be supposed from the phraseology of this provision that the right to keep and bear arms was only guaranteed to the militia; but this would be an interpretation not warranted by the intent. The militia, as has been elsewhere explained, consists of those persons who, under the law, are liable to the performance of military duty, and are officered and enrolled for service when called upon. But the law may make provision for the enrolment of all who are fit to perform military duty, or of a small number only, or it may wholly omit to make any provision at all; and if the right were limited to those enrolled, the purpose of this guaranty might be defeated altogether by the action or neglect to act of the government it was meant to hold in check. The meaning of the provision undoubtedly is, that the people, from whom the militia must be taken, shall have the right to keep and bear arms; and they need no permission or regulation of law for the purpose.

Judge Thomas Cooley Treatise 1880

Nor did the Supreme Court ever rule that the right to keep and bear arms was anything but an individual right.