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.
Friday, August 26, 2005
STATEMENT FROM NRA CHIEF LOBBYIST CHRIS W. COX Today’s “Sportsmen for Kaine” unveiling is just another attempt by ...
Monday, August 1, 2005
No summary available
Monday, July 18, 2005
Comments from NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre Two months ago, I was pleased to announce that ...
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
The same-song chorus of reactions to a bill to reform D.C. gun laws is not a new one. ...
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
The same-song chorus of reactions to a bill to reform D.C. gun laws is not a new one. ...
Monday, June 20, 2005
Fairfax, VA – Texas Governor Rick Perry has signed nine National Rifle Association (NRA) supported bills seeking ...
Thursday, June 9, 2005
Fairfax, VA—Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry (D) signed into law today a National Rifle Association (NRA)-backed bill to ...
Thursday, May 19, 2005
(FAIRFAX, VA) – Today, Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison introduced “The District of Columbia Personal Protection Act” ...
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Today, in a ceremony at the state capitol, Gov. Jeb Bush signed Florida’s “Castle Doctrine” (SB-436) into law. ...