A question was asked in comments of the article about the 
drop in crime in VA bars and restaurants.
Could you provide an authoritative interpretation of the phrase "well-regulated" ?
My answer.
 What  time is it? look at your microwave/ wall clock/ cable box/ watch/  phone. If they are in in sync then they are "well-regulated". 
When the 2A was penned a militia was expected to muster together, drill together, march together, and fire volleys together.
A well regulated militia was better in combat, therefore the state was better secured. 
That was off the cuff but in all honesty I most likely cribbed it from the likes of 
Dave Hardy or 
David E. Young.
My take on the "free state" part is they meant a free state of being, not a free polity with an formal system of governance.
ReplyDeleteState: solid, liquid, gaseous.
State: free, slave.
Not-state: California, Ohio, New York.
But that's just me. I could be -- probably am -- wrong. YMMV. Amateur driver, off-road, by all means, try this at home.
M