Gun Rights — The Ins And Outs Of What You Can And Cannot Do
(NRPI.org) – There have been extensive discussions and legislative action regarding regulating firearm purchases, possession, and transportation and various proposals to curtail firearm ownership. The meaning of the second amendment clause is hard to understand apart from the drafters’ objectives, purpose, and setting. So, what are your 2A rights as an American? Does the second amendment guarantee you the right to bear or own a gun? Here are the facts.
What Does the Second Amendment Cover?
Basically, the second law of the amendment indicates that an American has an individual right to arm themselves, and the government cannot infringe on that right. The amendment is meant to play a fundamental role in protecting the rights of all law-abiding gun owners.
The History of the Second Amendment
The second amendment’s origin traces back to the English Bill of Rights of 1689. Although the attempts of the English Crown to establish a national militia failed to work, the ideology continued to exist as a political tool through the mid-18th century.
The experience of the early Americans with military authority and militias would then inform what would turn out as the second amendment. However, there has been a consensus among scholars and judges that the second amendment only guaranteed the right of Americans to defend their liberties by taking part in a state militia.
By the late 20th century, the interpretation of the second amendment regarding “self-defense” had been adopted by a minority of judges. The view of self-defense seemed to be taken for granted by most Americans, especially people who opposed gun control. Legal scholars and lower federal courts disputed the second amendment’s meaning and how it functioned in an expanding universe of local, state, and federal laws governing firearms’ sale and private possession.
In the case District of Columbia v. Heller of 2008, after a lengthy historical analysis, the supreme court proclaimed that the amendment provides an individual right for a U.S. citizen to possess a firearm. The court ruled that an American citizen has a constitutional right to own a gun in their homes, removing the District’s handgun ban. The court pointed out Miller as an exception, claiming that a law-abiding citizen can’t use a sawed-off shotgun for a law-abiding purpose. In short, the law was reinterpreted to protect the individual rights of Americans.
In 2010, through McDonald v. City of Chicago, the court further strengthened the second amendment by affirming that Americans possess an individual right to keep and bear a firearm regardless of the city or state through the fourteenth amendment.
What Does the Second Amendment Mean to American Citizens?
The second amendment is one of the most debated parts of the constitution, with much debate about the proposed contents. However, the intended meaning of the second amendment is agreed upon widely. The word “militia” in the second amendment means American people. The supreme court has established an individual’s right to keep and bear arms without being related to one’s status in the said militia.
The founding fathers of the American constitution saw the need for citizens to protect themselves against any threat to their freedom or wellbeing in the second amendment. The final line of the amendment states that American citizens have a constitutional right to own firearms for a lawful purpose, and the government should not interfere with that right.
With a well-regulated Militia as a necessity for the security of a free State, Americans have the right to keep and bear arms without being infringed. Today, the state militia performs a different purpose. Americans have a constitutional right to defend their homes without anything undermining their rights.
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