Second Amendment Issue

    

 

The extent of that right has been hotly debated for over a century. Within this debate, essentially four positions have been advanced.

• One group has argued that the Second Amendment protects only the states' right to maintain an organized militia.

• A second group has argued that this right to maintain an armed militia belongs to "the people". 

• A third group has argued that individuals possess an even more fundamental set of gun rights—a right to arm themselves for self-defense, and a right to own guns for the purpose of hunting and sport.

• A fourth group has argued that individuals have a right to keep guns, but that right is linked to communal obligations including service in the militia. And the states have a right to ensure that the militias they maintain and the citizens who serve in them are "well-regulated." 

Until recently the United States Supreme Court consistently held that the Second Amendment did not protect a fundamental individual right to bear arms. But in 2008, the Court reversed course, holding that the amendment does protect a basic individual right to own and use guns for lawful purposes including self-defense. Supporters of gun rights and advocates of gun control will surely continue to debate the true meaning of the Second Amendment long into the future.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "Right to Bear Arms" Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.