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Second Amendment & the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

The Second Amendment protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms for defense of life and liberty.

In U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876), Presser v. Illinois (1886), Miller v. Texas (1894) and U.S. v. Miller (1939), the Supreme Court recognized that the amendment protects an individual right. It has never taken a different view. However, in Salina v. Blaksley (1905), the Kansas Supreme Court invented the idea that the amendment instead protected a “right” of a person to keep and bear arms only while serving in a state militia, and in U.S. v. Tot (1942), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit advanced the idea that the amendment protects the “right” of a state to have a militia.

In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court heard its first case specifically centered on whether the amendment protects an individual right to arms. Gun control supporters advanced essentially the "Salina" argument, but the Court, consistent with its previous rulings in Second Amendment-related cases, ruled that the amendment protects an individual right to keep arms and to bear arms "in case of confrontation," without regard to a person’s relationship to a militia.

In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the court extended the Second Amendment's protection nationwide.

Issue Articles
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News  

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Political Report: An Assault on Hunting Equals an Attack on the Second Amendment

It's no coincidence that the politicians who oppose our Second Amendment freedoms also tend to oppose hunting. Direct, ...

Hunting  

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Political Report: An Assault on Hunting Equals an Attack on the Second Amendment

It's no coincidence that the politicians who oppose our Second Amendment freedoms also tend to oppose hunting. Direct, ...

News  

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Political Report: An Assault on Hunting Equals an Attack on the Second Amendment

It's no coincidence that the politicians who oppose our Second Amendment freedoms also tend to oppose hunting. Direct, ...

News  

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

One-on-One with NRA-ILA`s Chris W. Cox

Chris W. Cox took over as the Executive Director of the NRA Institute For Legislative Action in 2002. ...

News  

Friday, July 20, 2007

NRA-PVF Endorses Congressman Bobby Jindal For Governor of Louisiana

Fairfax, VA. - The National Rifle Association’s (NRA) Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and NRA Political Victory Fund ...

News  

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Get Ready For RICO

Anti-gun politicians want to apply RICO racketeering statutes--designed to prosecute organized crime figures--to federal firearm law in an ...

News  

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Standing Guard June 2007

That March 14, 2007, New York Times headline trumpeted an editorial excoriating the Court of Appeals for the ...

News  

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

The Case For Reforming The District of Columbia`s Gun Laws

H.R. 1399/S. 1001, the “District of Columbia Personal Protection Act,” introduced in the House by Rep. Mike Ross ...

News  

Thursday, March 22, 2007

NRA’s Annual Meetings & Exhibits 2007: A Celebration of FreedomSt. Louis' America's Center features 5 Acres of Guns, Guides & Gear

Members of the media are invited to pre-register at [email protected] Fairfax, VA - The National Rifle Association is ...

News  

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Landmark Decision

An historic decision by a federal appeals court says the Second Amendment protects an individual right, and it ...

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NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.