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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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MassLive  

Monday, November 5, 2018

Firearm restrictions in Boston and Brookline don't violate Second Amendment, appeals court says

Cities and towns with restrictions on more than half of licenses include Springfield, Lowell, New Bedford, Newton and ...

Reason  

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Why 'Gun Culture' Is Every Bit a Part of America as 'Speech Culture'

"We often hear the term 'gun culture' being thrown around as invective," says David Harsanyi in his new ...

The American Spectator  

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

How Guns Made America

Andrew Cuomo recently blurted out that “America has never been great.” The remark generated the predictable reaction and ...

Houston Chronicle  

Monday, October 15, 2018

With Kavanaugh on court, gun laws could be targeted

At a minimum, Kavanaugh appears to be a vote for the Supreme Court to consider cases involving the ...

Eagle Tribune  

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Massachusetts: Healey's rival focuses on gun control issues

"She is violating the Second Amendment," Republican Jay McMahon, a Bourne-based attorney challenging Healey in the Nov. 6 ...

The Federalist  

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Lawmakers' New Anti-Gun Laws Are Also An Attack On Due Process

The notion that certain Americans are preemptively guilty of wrongdoing, whether there’s any corroborating evidence to back up ...

Los Angeles Times  

Friday, September 14, 2018

The big, dumb controversy that epitomizes the debate over Brett Kavanaugh

During a break in Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings on Sept. 4, the father of a ...

Washington Examiner  

Friday, September 14, 2018

Gun advocates: The Second Amendment needs Kavanaugh on Supreme Court

Gun rights advocates are stepping into the fight to push conservative federal appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh across the ...

The Hill  

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

McConnell predicts Senate vote on Kavanaugh in last week of September

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday said that he expects Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination to ...

Fox News  

Monday, September 10, 2018

Kavanaugh avoids traps as chaotic hearing winds down, confirmation vote looms

Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Friday moved a step closer to being seated on the Supreme Court, as four ...

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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.