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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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Star Advertiser  

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Hawaii: Hilo veteran has pushed for gun rights for 6 years

George Young Jr., a Chinese-Hawaiian Vietnam veteran from Hilo, wasn’t surprised after winning a lawsuit for the right ...

Roll Call  

Thursday, July 26, 2018

With Kavanaugh, Court Could Take Aim at Gun Control Laws

For the past eight years, the high court has avoided major cases addressing the extent to which Congress ...

Washington Examiner  

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Decades-old struggles shouldn't strip you of your gun rights today

Painful experience teaches that some “common sense” gun control legislation has hidden consequences that in the long run ...

Associated Press  

Monday, July 23, 2018

Cuomo, Lawmakers Urge Senate to Block Kavanaugh Over Guns

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have joined New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in calling on the U.S. ...

Washington Post  

Friday, July 20, 2018

Trump promised to remake the courts. He’s installing judges at a record pace

President Trump’s second year in office is proving to be his most successful yet in seeing through his ...

Associated Press  

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Oregon: Pro-Second Amendment measure to appear on Klamath ballot

Petitioners collected enough signatures to place a pro-Second Amendment measure on the November ballot in Klamath County.

Daily Caller  

Monday, July 16, 2018

Soros-linked group will spend millions to stop Kavanaugh

A new political advocacy group that vowed to put $5 million behind an effort to stop Judge Brett ...

The Hill  

Monday, July 16, 2018

Gun control advocates are hyperventilating over Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination

Gun control advocates are hyperventilating over President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Politico  

Monday, July 16, 2018

Feinstein: I’m equipped to lead anti-Kavanaugh brigade

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Saturday that the vetting process for ...

Chicago Sun Times  

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Kavanaugh’s record shows he’s ready to keep government power in check

Kavanaugh’s respect for legislators’ prerogatives does not mean he is shy about checking them when they overstep their ...

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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.