Check out this opinion by Judge Laurence Silberman. Reasoning from the text of the Second Amendment and the contemporary understanding, he concludes that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms. Then compare it to the dissent. Who’s right? At the risk of simplifying matters, it depends on whether the Supreme Court precedent is controlling, the effect and meaning of the preamble about the "well regulated militia," including whether the term "State" means a nation or means the states.
A bit of trivia — President George H. W. Bush passed over Silberman in favor of Souter.
