[2] Anti-gun advocates also claim that the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply a private right of self-defense against the state and only toward that of the federal government. [3] In McDonald v. Chicago (2010) the Supreme Court held that the Bill of Rights does apply to the federal government and the states because the U. S. Cont. amend. XIV§ 1 states, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States”. …show more content…
On the other hand, I also agree with the Supreme Court that the government does have the right to regulate guns under the premise of only “serious” felony acts and mental illness. The U. S. Const. amend. XIV § 1, states “No state shall make or enforce any laws which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of the citizens….” [10] While those against gun rights advocate that the right to bear arms is not a fundamental right, the basic right for an individuals to defend themselves has been recognized for all time and does apply to basic human rights. To say otherwise is only a way of circling around the fact and a way to take away everyone’s right to defend their life, liberty and property. The right to defend one’s self is just as important today as it was in ancient times. Today we not only have internal criminals, but terrorist all over the world who suppress and murder their own people. The effects of these terrorist groups are evident in foreign countries where armies and police cannot defend each individual and the right to bear arms is needed to fight back. The farmers of the Constitution understood the importance of protecting the people from government infringement, and I believe they meant the right to bear arms referred to not only the militias of the state, but the individual right to protect ones