The Second Amendment, as passed by the House and Senate, 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. ?
The original and copies distributed to the states, and then ratified by them, had different capitalization and punctuation:
? 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. ?
Both versions are commonly used in official government publications. The original hand-written copy of the Bill of Rights, approved by the House and Senate, was prepared by scribe William Lambert and hangs in the National Archives.
Commas
There is some question as to whether the Second Amendment contains a comma after the word "militia," or after the phrase "to keep and bear arms." Different versions of the Amendment appear in various U.S. government documents.
Grammar
The Second Amendment is formed with an opening phrase, followed by a declarative clause. The opening phrase is known to grammarians as an ablative absolute construction. The significance of this grammar was certainly understood to the framers who were more schooled in Latin grammar than is common in modern times.[12] This was a grammar structure that was common during that era.[13]
