The bill of rights are a limit to, not a strengthening of government. They all apply as limits to our own national government. The 2nd amendment is not designed to strengthen the security of the national government from any type of foreign or domestic invasion. It is designed as a check on the power of government here, in the US.
the 'security of a free state' means simply that to make certain we remain 'free' (have liberty), the citizens must be guaranteed the right to possess weapons. The 'arms' are our guarantee that we possess the ability to 'secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.'
the amendment is basically a guarantee to us that the government will not be able to take our rights away, because we will have the ability to force the government, at the point of a sword if necessary, to protect John Locke's natural rights of life, liberty, and property (or in our case, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.)
We threw off the british yoke of despotism by our ability to possess arms, and the 2nd amendment is a carryover of that idea into our present form of government. Do you seriously think that the creators of our government would not give us the same guarantees of freedom and liberty that they themselves enjoyed?
