The Second Amendment
Of the Constitution of the United States of America
The Original Thing
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.
Simplified into This
People are allowed to have weapons, and the government owes the people a well trained militia to protect them.
Some Limitations
No Concealed Weapons
In order to prevent unknown weapons that may harm another person without the person knowing.
no weapons in a gun free area
In order to prevent a tragic incident such as the Colorado springs Movie theater shooting.
Automatic And Machine Guns
These are the most dangerous weapons and only some are available because of Heller vs the US
Political Views
The Left
Known as the Democratic party in America, this end believes that people should have the right to own weapons as it is "an important part of the American tradition" and will "preserve Americans' Second Amendment right to own and use firearms" they also believe that "the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation"
The Middle
The Independent Party in America, land of Independence, believes that People have the right to bear Arms but the federal, state and local governments can regulate Arms and ban certain thing such as "weapons ranging from bombs and bomb making equipment to assault weapons"
The Right
American Republicans believe that citizens have the "right to obtain and store ammunition without registration". This is reasoned by the Second Amendment. Republicans amso believe that guns should not be licensed and let "law-abiding citizens throughout the country to own firearms in their homes for self-defence"
Summary of political views
The enitire American political spectrum belives similar things but the left and middle think that there should be some regulation while the right believes that there should be no regulation. They all believe that citizens have the right to bear Arms.
Gun Control groups
The NRA
The NRA is the National Rifle Association. They believe that guns should be accesable and easy to use for everyone. They teach about the second amendement and train people to wield Arms. They also fund programs such as youth education, law enforcement training, hunter education, conservation, firearms and marksmanship trainig and safety.
The Brady Campaign to end gun violence
The mission of this campaign is to "create a safer America for all of us that will lead to a dramatic reduction in gun deaths and injuries" . They have announced a bold goal of cutting the number of US gun deaths in half by 2025. They plan to have background checks on gun purchasers and stop bad gun dealers from supplying criminals.
What if we followed the second amendement to its extent?
Total and strict adherence to this amendment could mean that everyone has weapons and guns. This could cause a massive increase in crime and murder. But on the flipside, It could cause greater security and peace if guns are handled properly.
Background on Dick Heller
Dick Heller was a police officer who wished to register a handgun. He was a resident of the District of Columbia, which has laws against registering handguns. Heller took his case to the local court under terms of the second amendment.
But...
The District Court dismissed Heller’s complaints
But the Court of Appeals allowed Heller to take this matter to the Supreme Court.
At the Supreme court
The outcome of the Supreme Court case was that the law (in DC) was repealed, as it was deemed unconstitutional. People in the District of Columbia were allowed to own handguns in the home for use only in self defense.
Significance of this case
This case deals with the second amendment since it is all about the ownership of handguns.