The Real Foundational Reason for the 2nd Amendment – Your Right to Bear Arms

Your Rights Acccording to the Second Amendment

The second amendment states: “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.”

While the Second Amendment was formally enacted into law as a part of the Bill of Rights, the right to bear arms actually pre-dates the U.S. Constitution, stemming from natural rights in English law. In England, it was well understood that it was necessary for the right to bear arms to exist in order to curb the tyrannical tendencies of the king. As applied to the new American colonies, the presence of a well-regulated militia was essential for states to subordinate themselves to the federal government. Theoretically, maintaining a militia would allow states to ensure that the federal government would not overstep its bounds and exceed its power.

Furthermore, the historical documents of the Second Amendment tracks much of the text of early states’ bills of rights. As a result, many historians see the Second Amendment simply as an attempt to codify existing law, rather than the enactment of a new law altogether. Even today, at least 45 states have bills of rights that contain Second Amendment protections, many of which mirror the text of the federal Second Amendment.

While much controversy exists today about the true intent of the Second Amendment, the prevailing view is that the right to bear arms comes from the belief of the Founding Fathers that American citizens should have the right to adequately defend themselves and their states by, for instance, organizing their own militia system, deterring a tyrannical government, preventing invasion by enemies, avoiding revolts (including those by slaves), providing for self-defense, and participating in law enforcement. In fact, some of these purposes were specifically mentioned in early versions of state constitutions.

History shows that generations of Americans have considered the Second Amendment right to bear arms against abuse of power by the state and federal governments to be fundamental to the free government that our Founders intended to establish and maintain. As a result, the suggestion that the language of the Second Amendment has become obsolete in some way or irrelevant is unfounded, particularly given the continuing debate over the individual American’s right to bear arms.

In the wake of U.S. Supreme Court rulings and federal and state gun control legislation, the true intentions behind the Second Amendment have become subject to much interpretation and controversy. Primarily produced as a result of shooting tragedies occurring in recent years at schools, college campuses, and other events nationwide, proposed gun control laws have become a hotly contested topic among many sectors of American society. In light of the historical meaning behind the Second Amendment, however, the question remains whether gun control laws, such as the Brady Law, which went into effect in 1994, or any other attempts to legally restrict a person’s right to bear arms, undermine the very foundation of the Second Amendment, and unconstitutionally infringe upon our ability to be truly free.

Remember the choice you make about this constitutionally-guaranteed freedom will affect the kind of future you and your family will have. You decide.

Additional Resources

• Constitution of The United States
• Republic vs. Democracy
• Debate on Your Right to Bear Arms
• The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

Videos

• The Right to Bear Arms, by MSNBC
• Debate over the Right to Bear Arms, by Fox News

Apps

• Shotgun Defense Pro-Right to Bear Arms, by FunVid Apps LLC