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The act of bearing a firearm was initially represented as a duty in England, up until King Alfred converted this duty into a right. By doing so, individuals were allowed to use firearms for two purposes: self-defense and hunting. In time, “kings chose to trust their subjects with arms and to modify and supplement the militia if need be” (Malcom 3). Individuals were given the right to bear arms in exchange for their participation in England’s militia, which consists of “able-bodied male citizens declared by law as being subject to call to military service” (“Militia”). Additional implementations were then put into effect, one of them being King John’s recognition of the right to bear arms in the Magna Carta. This Angevin Charter will eventually “become a model for the American colonists in their struggle against the English monarchy” (Henderson 85). Further reinforcements involve banning society from hunting as well as controlling who can own a gun based on one’s religion or social class. Not only were these constraints administered towards individuals, but they were also applied to weapons. Monarchs controlled the size, type, amount and location of society’s weapons. The manner in which monarchs handled the rights associated to bearing arms, generated an immense disagreement among the militia. The following caused the English Civil War between the Parliament and the King to break out; consequently the British Bill of Rights restored the right to bear arms for Protestants. Meanwhile in America, “British soldiers fire on unarmed Americans in Boston leading to an upsurge of revolutionary sentiment” (Henderson 88). This revolutionary conflict between Britain and America is what triggered the American War of Independence. It also i... ... middle of paper ... ...h causes a lot of disagreement and confusion at a direct level (the individual), indirect level (society) and judicial level (the court). Works Cited Anastaplo, George. The Amendments to the Constitution: A Commentary. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1995. Print. Cornell, Saul. A Well-regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2006. Print. "District of Columbia v Heller | Casebriefs." Casebriefs. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. Henderson, Harry. Gun Control. New York: Facts On File, 2000. Print. Malcolm, Joyce Lee. To Keep and Bear Arms: The Origins of an Anglo-American Right. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1994. Print. "SUMMARY OF THE RECENT MCDONALD V. CHICAGO GUN CASE." SUMMARY OF THE RECENT MCDONALD V. CHICAGO GUN CASE. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. "United States v Emerson | Casebriefs." Casebriefs. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.
Holton, Woody. Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution. New York: Hill and Wang, 2007.
Since the inception of the Brady Act, over 118 million applications for firearm transfers or permits were subject to background checks. About 2.1 million applications, or 1.8%, were denied.
“Gun Control Reform.” Issues & Controversies. Facts On File New Services, 28 Feb. 2011.Web Oct. 2013.
history with a right to bear arms. Finally one can see the conflict of views
America has always been about guns, you see it on TV, in movies, video games, everywhere one looks they see a gun. It makes one wonder what it would have been like to live back then to see what it was like to live in a world with few weapons. One would think that gun violence would have been non-existent unlike now when it is everywhere. The author also discusses how during the period of the revolution through the war of 1812, all state governments demanded that all militia members give detailed reports on their military readiness. These reports were know more accurately a...
Professional champions of civil rights and civil liberties have been unwilling to defend the underlying principle of the right to arms. Even the conservative defense has been timid and often inept, tied less, one suspects, to abiding principle and more to the dynamics of contemporary Republican politics. Thus a right older than the Republic, one that the drafters of two constitutional amendments the Second and the Fourteenth intended to protect, and a right whose critical importance has been painfully revealed by twentieth-century history, is left undefended by the lawyers, writers, and scholars we routinely expect to defend other constitutional rights. Instead, the Second Amendment’s intellectual as well as political defense has been left in the unlikely hands of the National Rifle Association (NRA). And although the NRA deserves considerably better than the demonized reputation it has acquired, it should not be the sole or even principal voice in defense of a major constitutional provision.
In current day society, it is frequently promoted as self-defense and our “duty” as Americans to own a gun of some sort. The second amendment to the constitution declares that “We the People” are allowed to bear arms because we live in a free State. Although these statements are true, at what cost? The question, “at what cost,” arises due to the recent push for an extension and enforcement of the second amendment. The people of the States have been pushing for desired concealed carry at public areas, such as schools. Statements and questions of concern have been on the as to whether or not this idea is “smart”. Contrary of it allowing some people to feel safe, the idea should be imposed. Guns are weapons and they have the history behind them
Being a young American I have witnessed many problems with growing up in this great country of ours. We have homeless people who can't find work, rising inflation rates, an unbalanced budget, and more importantly, a problem with guns.
Many people believe that the Second Amendment means that only the military should have the right to carry guns. This is a must for the military but about everybody else is still a debatable topic. Many Americans believed that english history and the experience of colonial times, are different from the time today. The central governments are prone to use armies to oppress the people. For other purposes such as responding to sudden invasions, the government might be restricted to using a militia to fight off the situation. The militia will consist of ordinary civilians who will supply themselves with their own weapons and receive part time money. Militias are always either joined with federal, state or local government control.They described a militia or army not under no control could be considered illegal or in rebellion leading to danger. Gun control is such an important right to many individuals that they will go out of their way to make sure the right is preserved. Some ind...
Since the days before the American Revolution, there has always been a mythical citizen armament mentality within the United States, in the idea that everyday people would confront Native Americans along with the British army (Spitzer 10). This is further outlined in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which allows for the people to “keep and bear Arms” within “a well regulated Militia” (Spitzer 19). The amendment was originally meant to satisfy citizens who wanted to establish a state militia system separate from the federal standing army in the idea of having more individual power (Spitzer 29). Furthermore, in 2008, a conservative Supreme Court that had been mostly appointed by Republican Presidents ruled in this idea of individual power when it declared, for the first time, an individual right to own a gun. However, it is important to note that this 2008 Supreme Court decision, D.C. v. Heller, broke from precedent by moving away from the original meaning of the Amendment with the militia. The decision, by breaking from historical context, strongly fed the already existing myth that American citizens have always been heroes wielding guns, an ideological construct that is engrained within the society (Spitzer
"The History of the Right to Bear Arms." Gun Control: Restricting Rights or Protecting People?. Sandra M. Alters. 2009 Ed. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Information Plus Reference Series. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 Feb. 2014.
The purpose of the book was to help people better understand the issue of gun control in the United States, and how the second amendment that was made when the country was first being built has now been translated to fit the ideas of different groups. The Author Saul Cornell is one of the nation’s leading authorities on early American constitutional thoughts. Because of this his work has been cited by both the states supreme courts and United States Supreme Court this makes him the perfect author to discuss the second amendment.(1)
Chief Justice Burger’s “The Right To Bear Arms,” is supported by his use of historical precedence because of his authority, knowledge of the past, and his ability to accurately contrast a bygone era and its importance within the present debate. First, his
Kautzer, Chad. "Good Guys with Guns: From Popular Sovereignty to Self-Defensive Subjectivity." Law and Critique July 2015: 173+. Academic OneFile. Web. 6 July 2015. This article discuss the legality of Americans to bear arms ,and the subjectivity of self-defense
Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in the lawful defense of himself or the State; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime.