Americans Have the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Essay -- Constitutional

Americans Have the Right to Keep and fag ArmsOur covers as Americans started to take shape when the establishment of the United States was drawn up by the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Three years later, a very important part of American history called the Bill of Rights was added. The Bill of Rights is looked upon and see all day. It gives the citizens of the United States many of the rights and freedoms that we value today, and some of those are in jeopardy. One right that is at stake is our right to bear arms, which is addressed in the minute of arc Amendment. The Second Amendment is a highly debatable topic, and many legal scholars and the Supreme royal court have yet to resolve the issues and controversy dealing with the Amendment. Until a finality can be made, the law will remain as it is currently interpreted. The citizens of the United States of America have the right to keep and bear arms.The controversy intimately the Second Amendment i s derived from how it is worded (Jordan). The debate about the wording can be broken into two different statements. To understand the arguments it is important to know how the Amendment is worded. The Second Amendment states, A come up 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 (qtd. in Anastaplo 61). The first argument is that some people view the Second Amendment as two separate rights. The right of the people to keep and bear arms can be interpreted with the idea that each individual has the right to keep and bear arms whereas, it could be a collective right giving just the members of the Militia the right to have guns (Gold). It is believed that the original meaning of the right to bear arms and the militia in the same Amendment was because in the early times of America the citizens needed weapons to warrantee their freedom and prevent the government from forming a dictatorship (Ede l xi). The second debate is that the Amendment is one statement, therefore meaning that the militia has the right to bear arms. The problem of accord the meaning of the Second Amendment has been brought before many courts all across America and has been ruled upon in different ways at different times. However, the Supreme Court has never declared it illegal to own guns.Over the years, t... ...iminals would be able to get guns illegally if they wanted them (Smith 25). It comes down to the age old saying of guns do not kill people, people kill people. The ability to keep and bear arms is also a right given to the American people by the Bill of Rights and was reinstated when one of the framers, Thomas Jefferson, said, No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.Works CitedAnastaplo, George. The Amendments to the Constitution A Commentary. Baltimore John Hopkins UP, 1995.Chidsey, Donald Barr. The Birth of the Constitution An Informed History. New York Crown, 1964.Edel, Wilbur. Gun Control Threat to Liberty or Defense Against Anarchy?. London Praeger, 1995.Gold, Bruce. The 2nd Amendment A Historical Understanding. Keep and Bear Arms.com. 5 April 2004 Hickok, Eugene W., ed. The Bill of Rights Original Meaning and Current Understanding. Charlottesville UP of Virginia, 1991.Jordan, Stan. The Common Sense 2nd Amendment. Keep and Bear Arms.com. 2001. 5 April 2004 Klein, Chuck. What the Second Amendment Says. The Cincinnati Enquirer 28 March 2001 B7. 5 April 2004 Smith, Guy. Gun Facts Version 2.0. 2000. 1 April 2004