The 2nd Amendment and the Right to Bear Arms - Essay Example

Guns were even provided to those who could not afford weapons. (Gerber 2011) The debate over the second amendment today is that those in favor of gun control laws fear that a weapon for defense can become a weapon of offence either accidentally or intentionally. For that matter, the first part of the provision of this amendment, “well-regulated militia” is advocated by pro gun control laws. This provision is interpreted as that gun possession is only applied to official defensive forces such as the National Guard.

On the other hand, gun lovers support the interpretation grown out the second part of the amendment which states that, “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” This means that citizens can have guns and the government has no power over confiscating this right away from them. (Gerber 2011). Whether the prospects of the second amendment’s enforcement in the Bill of Rights would bring a positive or negative change in the American society? The second amendment was made to the Constitution of the United States in 1791 stating that, “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.

” ( http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/billofrights) . This amendment has two perspectives. Its first section inculcates that the states can enforce their militias with arms for collective security while the second part diverts towards individual security. Thus, it is raising a contradiction in the fundamentality of the amendment. This amendment is unique of all the amendments in the sense that it is the only among the others that is not enforced yet. There is no unanimity in the decision of the justices because there is no clarity about its purpose.

A civil right in American Constitution is defined as “a right or rights belonging to a person by reason of citizenship including especially the fundamental freedoms and privileges guaranteed by the 13th and 14th amendments and subsequent acts of Congress including the right to legal, social and economic equality. This makes gun ownership as much of a civil right as freedom of speech, religion and freedom of the press.” Gun possession is vital for certain reasons like for sports competitions.

For instance, target shooting, a game played popularly in the United States is incomplete without guns. Hunting is another sport, hobby and tempting pastime of Americans. (http://www.saf.org/default.asp?p=gunrights_faq) The right to bear arms is a necessity in today’s criminal world. The United States is a country with the most high crime rate in the world. The amendment’s second half empowers the individual with freedom of carrying arms for self-defense. A simple yet very basic argument of gun possession is self-defense.

Criminals are easily deterred this way. Instead of waiting for the regular police to respond to the victim’s calls, the victim should have the capacity to tackle the matter on his own. This will help decrease the level of crimes. In the United States 46% of Americans claim possession of arms for the purpose of protection against criminals. (Heston 2008) Richard Henry Lee, Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress and member of the first Continental Congress which passed the Bill of Rights said that, “"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use