[Ponine]

Originally Posted by sleepyjeff

I once heard that when Madison wrote the amendment he originally meant for it to be placed within the body of the Constitution itself.

Does anyone know where he intended to put it and what clauses came before and after? Knowing that would help with context I'd think.

Madison’s original plan was to designate the amendments as inserts between specific sections of the existing Constitution, rather than as separate amendments added to the end of the document.

Hardy, supra at 609 (citing 1 ANNALS OF CONGRESS 707-08 (Joseph Gales ed., 1789)).

Madison did not designate the right to keep and bear arms as a limitation of the militia clause of Section 8 of Article I.
Rather, he placed it as part of a group of provisions (with freedom of speech and the press) to be inserted in "Article 1st, Section 9, between Clauses 3 and 4." Id. (quoting 5 DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 186-87 (1905)).

Such a designation would have placed this right immediately following the few individual rights protected in the original Constitution, dealing with the suspension of bills of attainder, habeas corpus, and ex post facto laws.

Thus Madison aligned the right to bear arms along with the other individual rights of freedom of religion and the press, rather than with congressional power to regulate the militia. Id. This suggested placement of the Second Amendment reflected recognition of an individual right, rather than a right dependent upon the existence of the militia.

I wanted a more "impressive" source, but right now thats all I can find. Does that help you?