What is the Militia?

From the JPFO:

One of the most common arguments gun-prohibitionists use is that the term "militia" in the Second Amendment refers to States' right to maintain an army -- that is, the National Guard.

We all know better, and here's proof. Following is a scan from the 1771 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. You can see a scan of the whole page, plus the cover page, in PDF format here.

The definition of militia reads:

MILITIA, in general, denotes the body of soldiers, or those who make profession of arms.
.....In a more restrained sense, militia denotes the trained bands of a town or country, who arm themselves, upon a short warning, for their own defence. So that, in this sense, militia is opposed to regular or stated troops.
.....For the direction and command of the militia, the king constitutes lords-lieutenants of each country.

The meaning of the phrase "well-regulated" in the 2nd amendment

From: Brian T. Halonen

The following are taken from the Oxford English Dictionary, and bracket in time the writing of the 2nd amendment:

1709: "If a liberal Education has formed in us well-regulated Appetites and worthy Inclinations."

1714: "The practice of all well-regulated courts of justice in the world."

1812: "The equation of time ... is the adjustment of the difference of time as shown by a well-regulated clock and a true sun dial."

1848: "A remissness for which I am sure every well-regulated person will blame the Mayor."

1862: "It appeared to her well-regulated mind, like a clandestine proceeding."

1894: "The newspaper, a never wanting adjunct to every well-regulated American embryo city."

The phrase "well-regulated" was in common use long before 1789, and remained so for a century thereafter. It referred to the property of something being in proper working order. Something that was well-regulated was calibrated correctly, functioning as expected. Establishing government oversight of the people's arms was not only not the intent in using the phrase in the 2nd amendment, it was precisely to render the government powerless to do so that the founders wrote it.