Gun Control and the Second Amendment
Gun Control and the Second Amendment The debate over gun control in America centers on the differing interpretations of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. The 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.” At question is whether or not there is an individual right to keep and bear arms provided by this amendment. Determining the true meaning of the Second Amendment requires an examination of the Founding Fathers’ thoughts on gun ownership during the late 18th century. Securing a common agreement on the original intent of the amendment is the first step in resolving the gun control controversy. Interpreting the Second Amendment For those that have studied the Second Amendment, its grammatical structure provides a continuing source of consternation. Stanford Levinson (1989) declared that “No one has ever described the Constitution as a marvel of clarity, and the Second Amendment is perhaps one of the worst drafted of all its provisions. What is special about the Amendment is the inclusion of an opening clause -- a preamble, if you will -- that seems to set out its purpose” (p. ... The opening clause of the amendment, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,” is referred to as the justification clause. The remainder of the amendment, “the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed,” is known as the operative clause. The justification and operative clauses, with their relative importance both alone and in relation to each other, form the basis of all arguments over Second Amendment interpretation. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (2001) described three models of Second Amendment interpretation in a recent ruling. ... In this version, the amendment protects a state’s right to arm and maintain a militia. The second is the “sophisticated collective rights” model. In this version, the amendment protects the right of an individual to keep and bear arms, but only as it serves the state militia. ... Those in favor of gun control laws subscribe to the collective rights models, focusing on the justification clause of the amendment. Advocates of gun rights believe the individual right model is the correct interpretation, choosing to concentrate on the operative clause of the amendment.