One of the most topical issues in United States is gun control. The issue has reached the supreme court over and over again, and many different people have different stances on it.. The basis of is the Second Amendment, written in the Bill of Rights. 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." (U.S. Const. amend. II) The problem is that the intent behind the amendment is unclear. This paper will examine the many interpretations of the Second Amendment and the intent with which it was written.
The first angle to consider is the judicial perspective. There have been a few cases about the Second Amendment that have reached the Supreme Court, most notably United States v. Cruikshank, United States v. Miller, and Heller v. District of Columbia …show more content…
Grant Arnold, a legal professor at Brigham Young University, takes the story of the Amendment back even further. He explains how King James II of England was overthrown after he attempted to weaken the strength of his people though disarmament (Arnold, 2015, p. 484). The Framers then took this detail into account when writing the Bill of Rights. According to Arnold, this proves that the founding fathers included it so that the people may overthrow a tyrannical leader (Arnold, 2015, p. 485).
David Vandercoy, a professor at New York School of Law, elaborates on Arnold’s point, pointing out the intentions behind the Second Amendment. He explains how the Anti-federalists, who were against centralized power and are credited with inspiring the Second Amendment, would never have approved of distributing the power to the states. (Vandercoy, 1994, p. 27) Instead, when the Second Amendment talks about a militia, it is referring to the militia of the people, because that is the best way to decentralize the government’s
The first angle to consider is the judicial perspective. There have been a few cases about the Second Amendment that have reached the Supreme Court, most notably United States v. Cruikshank, United States v. Miller, and Heller v. District of Columbia …show more content…
Grant Arnold, a legal professor at Brigham Young University, takes the story of the Amendment back even further. He explains how King James II of England was overthrown after he attempted to weaken the strength of his people though disarmament (Arnold, 2015, p. 484). The Framers then took this detail into account when writing the Bill of Rights. According to Arnold, this proves that the founding fathers included it so that the people may overthrow a tyrannical leader (Arnold, 2015, p. 485).
David Vandercoy, a professor at New York School of Law, elaborates on Arnold’s point, pointing out the intentions behind the Second Amendment. He explains how the Anti-federalists, who were against centralized power and are credited with inspiring the Second Amendment, would never have approved of distributing the power to the states. (Vandercoy, 1994, p. 27) Instead, when the Second Amendment talks about a militia, it is referring to the militia of the people, because that is the best way to decentralize the government’s