The delegates to the Constitutional Convention had a lot to say about the "general militia" and "select militias", and the fundamental differences between them.

There's no question that the 2nd refers to the general militia. And that the National Guard is a select militia,

"The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti republican principle; and when we see many men disposed to practice upon it, whenever they can prevail, no wonder true republicans are for carefully guarding against it." - Richard Henry Lee

Is it just me, or am I missing the part where Congress passed a law to impose the tax?

"To the contrary, gun rights proponents embrace the statistical analysis such as that popularized by John R. Lott, Jr., author of More Guns Less Crime."

To the contrary contrary - for all to that it's nice to see Lott trashing the gun-grabbers' utilitarian arguments, fundamental rights cannot be allowed to restricted by utilitarian concerns.

Even if Lott were wrong, and wide-spread gun ownership did result in increased crime rates, restrictions on gun ownership cannot be justified unless based on the particular dangers posed by the specific individual.

To say otherwise is to say that a nurse, working 3rd shift in an inner-city hospital, cannot be allowed to carry a gun because allowing people to carry guns will result in more gang members and drug dealers shooting each other. It's an idea that simply cannot be accepted in a free society.

Do we remember Waco?

Yes.

Privately-owned guns won't keep the government from killing you, they only keep the government from killing you easily and quietly.

I'm willing to discuss ending the tax deduction for home mortgages, provided we tie it to ending the tax deduction for government bonds.

Why should not bond holders be taxed on their interest received? All it does is lower the interest rates that governmental entities are charged, and encourages them to borrow too much.