Good point, Charles

To reiterate - in the 18th C. a militia was a band of concerned citizens banding together under a local leader. The infamous Green Mountain Boys of the Revolution are a classic example of what a militia was then.

>>> Given all their lofty ideals it's hard for me to believe the founders envisioned an entire society running around armed to the teeth.
>
>Actually, in the American of the 18th century it would have been hard for the Founders to imagine a society where everyone was *not* armed. Militia was a gathering of *armed* citizens - their own guns.