Warren E. Burger's The Right To Bear Arms

An Analysis of “The Right to Bear Arms”

Former Chief Justice of the United States (1969 – 1986), Warren E. Burger, was published in the January 14, 1990 edition of Parade Magazine for his work entitled, “The Right to Bear Arms”. In his essay, he questions the modern age standards being held for one to purchase a firearm, with an aim to tighten up those regulations. To argue his case he has provided record breaking homicide statistics from 1988 and states that some of the metropolitan centers in the U.S. “have up to 10 times the murder rate of all of Western Europe”, where strict gun control laws have been placed. To summarize the article, Burger asks the American people to question whether or not the gun laws and regulations in place are

He gives a lengthy account of events that led to the Second Amendment; the people carried a deep-seated fear of a national army, this is because of their history of oppression by the European monarchs. Consequently, the people of the individual states were creating their own militia and during the Valley Forge men had refused to take an oath to the United States, instead claiming that his state was his country. There arose a need for a national army. “The same First Congress that approved the right to keep and bear arms also limited the nation army to 840 men; Congress in the Second Amendment then

He challenges anyone who would argue his case, in saying, “That we may be ‘over-regulated’ in some areas of life has never held us back from more regulation of automobiles, airplanes, motorboats and ‘concealed weapons.’” And again with this statement, “‘Saturday night specials’ and machine guns are not recreational weapons and surely are as much in need of regulation as motor vehicles”. Being direct, but diplomatic, Berger is trying to make a point that people don’t question the need to register a vehicle and enforce laws and standards for the drivers, so why not ask the same of those who wish to possess a