Gun Control: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Decoding the Second Amendment

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads, "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." What does that really mean? The wording of this amendment is a little confusing and people now-a-days don't fully understand the meaning. Let's break this down.

The first ten amendments in the Constitution are considered The Bill of Rights. These rights were given by the founding fathers as a way to "secure the individual rights against a tyrannical government that might be possible under the Constitution."  (No Vice & No Virtue) Now, let's break this down even further, into two sections. The first section being, "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state,". A lot of people have the misconception that "a well regulated militia", is referring to a  military personnel, so only people that have joined the armed forces have the right to own a gun. This is untrue. The word "militia" in this context is not referring to people of a particular group, but as any able body that is able to achieve proficiency in the use of a weapon to maintain a free state. There was a time when we did not have a standing army ready in the time of crisis, this being necessary for a "free" state. In order to create a sense of security, every able body would have to be able to defend themselves until the government was able to show up.

The second part of this amendment is, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." "The right of the people", seems pretty self explanatory. Who are we giving the right to? The people, or any able bodied person. The word "the" is a big part here. "The" establishes what is already in place. You're not just looking for any right, "the right" has already been established.. "To keep and bear arms", the right for people to carry, train, and keep weapons in their homes. "These rights shall not be infringed", means no one can take this right away, period.

       "So, taken all together, the amendment means basically this:

       Since we need to have a competent militia that is available nationwide to defend us in case of an immediate crisis, everyone needs to have the right to keep and train with weapons so they may join in that militia effort if needed." (No Vice & No Virtue)

Skillman,Pete.No Vice & No Virtue. http://peteskillman.com/2013/03/the-second-amendment/.                  Accessed 27 Sept. 2016.

Macbraigh,Matt.9 Things You Didn't Know About the Second Amendment..Mic. 8 Feb.                                 2013. https://mic.com/articles/24557/9-things-you-didn-t-know-about-the-second-                     amendment#.BGO2YKb6D. Accessed 27 Sept. 2016.