Firearm/weapons safety dictates that you wouldn't be practicing with your 25-pounder anywhere near people's homes.

Shall not be infringed. Ofc, night time practise is necessary for security of free state.

Agreed. And feel free to do so in your country home.

Like the 1A, 2A isnt absolute, even conservatives say it isnt. You cant shoot guns for fun in a patio in NYC (but you should be allowed to own a mortar!). Not absolute but unconstitutionally stifled for decades.

You are allowed to own a mortar in US.

You just have to pony up $200 for the mortar itself, and then $200 for each shell, to register them with ATF as destructive devices. Well, and find someone to willing to sell them for you. Or make your own.

IANAL, nor 2A case law buff...but given the Troubles of 7 February 1991 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downing_Street_mortar_attack ) - and much other mischief that they'd be "just the thing" for - I suspect that U.S. law enforcement could be very interested in private owners of mortars.

That's partly why they set it up that way in the first place - ATF gets to review all those applications, and while they cannot reject them except for specific enumerated reasons, they can certainly investigate and/or notify other agencies.

Nevertheless, if you follow the procedure, it is legal, and rich collectors do it. Also applies to larger artillery pieces, tanks with working main gun etc.

Well regulated militia

"Well-equipped" in modern English.

Do you have a source for this? My understanding of the second amendment comes from reading America’s Constitution: A Biography by Akhail Reed Amar. I’m trying to find reference to this meaning you cited, but coming up short. I also don’t find it in the article by him in The New Republic:

https://newrepublic.com/article/73718/second-thoughts

DC vs. Heller settled the meaning of the term in regards to Constitutional law. There's also a long history of "well-regulated" meaning well-equipped, in proper working order, etc. in English going back hundreds of years.

A quick search found this list of examples: https://www.learnaboutguns.com/2019/08/11/the-meaning-of-wel...

(linking to that site rather than its source since the source is sending a bad SSL cert)

There are other writings by the Founding Fathers from the time of the ratification of the US Constitution reiterating the need of a right for people to own arms in case it's necessary to overthrow the government, specifically including the government they had just created.

Thanks! I’m trying to round out my understanding. I’m not too big of a fan of textualism/originalism, but it’s a major judicial theory (obviously).