The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution specifies the right to own and bear firearms, and to form a citizen militia. This right is an individual right and not a right of the state. It is considered a civil liberty in which it is fully protected by the United States Constitution.
Civil liberties are “Those personal freedoms, including freedom of religion and freedom of speech, that are protected for all individuals. The civil liberties set forth in the U.S. Constitution, as amended, restrain from taking certain actions against individuals.” The Bill of Rights, or first ten amendments, is in place in order to protect the rights of the individual, and without these rights written into the Constitution, it would not have been ratified and states would not have signed the constitution. It is a right and a civil liberty to own and bear firearms, we must protect this right because this is not only the right to own a firearm but is a right to protect and defend ourselves. The Bill of Rights is in place to protect our rights and the Second Amendment is in place so we can protect ourselves.
The Bill of Rights is made up of the first ten amendments of the constitution, which shape the notions and beliefs that Americans and the Founding Fathers have held true since the birth of our nation in 1776. These rights are individual rights, and not that of the state, to say that the Second Amendment is a right controlled by the states is to nullify the other nine amendments of the Bill of Rights. For years there have been arguments whether or not the Second Amendment is protecting a states right to regulate a militia, or an individual’s right to own firearms and form a militia. In a recent Supreme Court case District of Columbia v. Heller the court upheld that the Second Amendment of the constitution protects a person’s right to own and bear firearms.
When the Constitution was being written some colonies such as Virginia would not sign it unless specific rights were protected for the people. Consequently, the fifty-five authors of the Constitution added the first ten amendments in order clarify for the people their individual rights, and ratify the constitution. The Second Amendment was added in order to protect individuals right to own and bear firearms, much like the rights to freedom of speech, religion and press, the right to own and bear a firearm is an individual right. When the states were thinking about ratifying the constitution Tench Coxe, a political economist and delegate wrote in the Pennsylvania Gazette, “Congress shall have no power to disarm the militia. Their Swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American…The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.” During this period it was clear that the right to keep and bear arms was seen as a right of the individual, and not the state. The amendment was put in place in order to ensure that Americans would be able to defend themselves, and allow the individual the tools to do so. The same holds true today. Self-defense classes are just one reason that the Second Amendment is in place. Americans have the right to defend themselves and the right to do so with firearms. In John R. Lott’s, More Guns, Less Crime,” Lott shows the reader how guns and gun safety knowledge are important factors and the more people know about guns, the safer they are. Gun control activists would dispute this with the notion that guns on the street contribute to gun violence, injury and death. According to the NRA, crime is greatly decreased in states that have concealed weapon carry. This is because people in these states are able to defend themselves and exercise their Second Amendment right. Cities such as Dallas, Texas have extremely low crime rates, which one might argue is partly due to the fact that law-abiding citizens can carry firearms, as well as prevalent gun safety awareness. At the end of the day, gun safety is the important term to understand and not gun control.
During the American Revolutionary War it was the civilian militias that were responsible for some of the most casualties of British soldiers. At this time the British were still set in their ways of traditional warfare where they got in firing lines and opened fire on each other standing face to face with the opposing army. During the revolution, the colonists presented the British with a particular version of guerilla warfare where they did much more moving and did not expose themselves, often shooting from behind trees and running to new positions in order to avoid enemy fire. This was all made possible by there ability to own and bear there own firearms, without this they would have been helpless and worthless in the war effort, which could have adversely affected the outcome. A lawyer, Revolutionary War militia officer, legal scholar, and U.S. District Court judge, St. George Tucker, wrote, “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, and this without and qualification as to their condition or degree, as is the case in the British government.” He clearly believed in the Second Amendment was an individual right that could not be taken away by either state or federal government.
Even though we are no longer fighting the British on our own soil, there is still a need to be able to own firearms. Firearms are utilized for a variety of uses that are largely overlooked such as law enforcement, hunting, and the shooting sports like trap and skeet. These activities promote responsibility when handling firearms, and when youth are involved, teach them lifelong lessons on gun safety and responsibility. In reference to a question regarding who should have guns and why, Ted Nugent, an avid sportsman, outdoor enthusiast and board of directors for the National Rifle Association writes in his book “Ted, White and Blue: The Nugent Manifesto, “A good law abiding citizen, not convicted of a felon. The Second Amendment of our Bill of Rights is my concealed weapons permit (Nugent). He strongly believes that it is our right as Americans to be able to defend ourselves and the government should not be able to tell you when or how you can defend yourself. In a periodical entitled, “Firearms and Health: The Right to Be Armed with Accurate Information about the Second Amendment,” Vernick and Teret believe that firearms are not dangerous and more people are killed yearly in car crashes than by guns (Vernick, Teret, 1773).
Through the proper use of firearms, one can defend himself to the fullest and ensure safety of himself, his family, and his property. For hundreds of years Americans have fought foreign enemies, defended our property and defended our rights through the use of firearms. The people that are fighting so hard to take away this right would never have rights if it weren’t for firearms.
Anti-gun activists believe that there is no longer a need for people to own and bear firearms, and that the Second Amendment is intended for the sate to be able to regulate an armed militia, and that the right to bear arms is only when involved in a well-regulated, organized militia. They try there best to come up with evidence to support their argument, but the right is protected by the constitution and the 9th Amendment states that the people possess other rights than those enumerated and therefore the constitution does not give these rights, it simply protects rights that Americans have had all along. In Aaron Zelman and Richard W. Stevens’ book, “Death by Gun Control,” both authors write that many governments throughout history whom have taken away their citizens’ right to bear arms end up slaughtering their own citizens. These citizens had no way of defending themselves from an all-powerful government. In many cases, the only thing that follows is genocide (Zelman 78). In the first Second Amendment Supreme Court case U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876) the court upheld that the right to keep and bear arms is not granted by the Constitution, but is a pre-existing right that the constitution simply protects in the Bill of Rights. The right to keep and bear firearms is a “birth right of Americans” that cannot be taken away.
Neglecting the Second Amendment has consequences that are overlooked by gun control activists. Hunters utilize guns in their sport, and to take away these guns would cause a chain reaction of problems. Every year hunters provide millions of dollars to the conservation of land and species. Anti-gun activist use the term “assault rifle”, and say that they do not have hunting or sporting use, when the term itself is loaded language meant to gain support against guns. Assault rifles are simple semi-automatic weapons, which means for each pull of the trigger a shot is fired. Some hunting rifles are semi-automatic, which to anti-gun activists classifies as an “assault rifle.” By strictly regulating guns, activists use rhetoric to blindly promote the loss of crucial funding for habitat and conservation. The attacks on rights protected by the Constitution are more than mere attacks on the right to keep and bear firearms, but attacks on American’s right to be free. The government regulation or prohibition of owning firearms would be a breach of our rights as American’s. Personal interest groups such as the National Rifle Association fight to defend our Second Amendment right. The NRA and its members strongly believe that the right to keep and bear firearms is an individual right protected by the Constitution and are willing to provide millions of dollars in order to defend this right. The NRA not only provides funding for the defense of the Second Amendment, but supports the shooting sports and provides many shooting and safety programs.
The shooting at Columbine high school drew a lot of attention to the issue of guns and youth. The event definitely put guns into a negative light and anti-gun activists came out of the woodwork wanting to put bans on all firearms and enforce strict gun control policies. The event was shocking, but you are more likely to be struck by lighting than killed in a school shooting. The NRA has a solution for youths and it is simple: firearm safety. Children that are taught firearm and shooting safety treat guns with much more responsibility. It is the misguided youths who are never taught this responsibility that goes along with handling a firearm that end up being reckless and shooting up schools. This is not to say that if you teach a child how to use a firearm that he won’t be irresponsible, but it greatly reduces the probability and along with greater education comes a greater respect and responsibility for the power a firearm.
Pro gun control activists argue that guns are bad because they kill people. Guns can kill people, but the guns don’t just get up out of the closet walk down the street and shoot someone. People kill people. According to the National Rifle Associations website, firearms are involved in 0.7% of accidental deaths. That is less than the number of people killed on bicycles and tricycles. More people die driving cars than from guns, but there is no legislature to control cars. The reasoning behind some arguments of gun control activists simply aren’t supported by facts or statistics.
The right to keep and bear firearms is a liberty that is clearly protected by the Constitution, and is not a right of the state but a right of the individual. An individual has the complete right to defend himself whether he/she is against the British or a home invader. The federal or state government cannot be allowed to enforce when and how free law-abiding citizens can protect themselves. The use of firearms is a timeless American tradition that must be defended equally to that of our tradition of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. One of our founding fathers Benjamin Franklin once said, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” The Second Amendment protects that liberty and safety that all Americans enjoy, and as long as it is the right of an individual to keep and bear arms, we will all continue to enjoy those freedoms.
Bibliography
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NRA Gun Safety Rules. < http://www.nrahq.org/education/guide.asp>.
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Lott, John R. and Lott, John R. Jr. “More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and
Gun-control Laws.” Published by University of Chicago Press, 2000.
Vernick, Jon S. and Teret, Stephen P. ““Firearms and Health: The Right to Be Armed
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