2nd Amendment

17 Pages 4126 Words

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.

Amendment II, Bill of Rights

Constitution of the U.S.



The Second Amendment has been a major issue in American politics since 1876. In question is the intent of this Amendment. Was it meant to insure that people in general have arms for personal service, or was it intended to insure arms for military service? The nation's powerful gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, holds that it means the right to keep and bear arms -any arms. This privileged right is given to those 60-65 million people who choose to own guns. The NRA also believes that human character defects cannot be changed by a simple regulation of guns. They argue that problems with firearm ownership cannot be, in any way, associated with criminal violence. The lobbyist give credibility to this statement by adding that criminal violence continues to increase in cities like New York and Washington DC, even though gun control statutes were put into affect. They point out that gun laws would not have stopped most addicted killers. According to the NRA, anti-crime measures are the way to conquer urban violence, not anti-gun measures. The hope of most members in the association is to educate people about guns. The association is willing to reveal proper usage of guns to non-gun owners.

They feel that this training could help reduce some of the tragedies involving guns.

The issue of gun control has become a dividing line in America. To gun control activists, the issue is about crime and the regulation of the weapons used to commit these crimes. In their opinion, law abiding citizens should have no need for guns. In this respect, the big controversy seems shallow . However, to the NRA population, a much deeper issue is in question, the issue is freedom. The members believe that the Second Amendment is crucial to ...