Second Amendment: Right to Keep or Bear Arms

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights.

Two recent Supreme Court decisions, District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and McDonald v. Chicago (2010), interpreted the Second Amendment. In Heller, the Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm (unconnected to service in a militia) and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. Additionally, the Court enumerated several longstanding prohibitions and restrictions on firearms possession that it found were consistent with the Second Amendment. In McDonald, the Court determined that the Second Amendment limits state and local governmental authority to the same extent that it limits federal authority.

Per text in the Constitution: "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. 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."

For more on the second amendment, Wikipedia is a great source. Being one of the most controversial of the amendments, a Google search will bring up many helpful links as well.

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