The Second Amendment reads, “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.”

As a patriotic citizen, I am concerned about maintaining the integrity of our Constitution. As a gun owner, I enjoy the liberty granted in the second phrase of the amendment, but I am afraid I am not complying with the mandate stated in the first part of that sentence. I am not a member of a well-regulated militia. In fact, I cannot locate a local militia to join.

Obviously, I am ill-informed. With the national uproar over the preservation of the Second Amendment, I presume there are well-regulated militias throughout the nation of which I am unaware.

Perhaps my friends and neighbors could enlighten me.

Loraleigh Porter

Mancos