Gun Control - ProCon.pdf - Gun Control ProCon.org T HE L...

10/15/2017 Gun Control - ProCon.org
1/8
T
HE
L
EADING
S
OURCE
F
OR
P
ROS
& C
ONS
O
F
C
ONTROVERSIAL
I
SSUES
Custom Search Search
Pro 1
The Second Amendment is not an unlimited right to own
guns.
Gun control laws are just as old or older than the Second
Amendment (rati±ed in 1791). Some examples of gun control
throughout colonial America included criminalizing the transfer of
guns to Catholics, slaves, indentured servants, and Native Americans;
regulating the storage of gun powder in homes; banning loaded guns
in Boston houses; and mandating participation in formal gathering of
troops and door-to-door surveys about guns owned.
[1] [2]
In the June
26, 2008 District of Columbia et al. v. Heller US Supreme Court
majority opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia, LLB, wrote, "Like most rights,
the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited. From
Blackstone through the 19th-century cases, commentators and
co rts ro tinel e plained that the right as not a right to keep and
Con 1
The Second Amendment of the US Constitution protects
individual gun ownership.
The Second Amendment of the US
Constitution reads, "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." Gun ownership is an American tradition older
than the country itself and is protected by the Second Amendment;
more gun control laws would infringe upon the right to bear arms.
Justice Antonin Scalia, LLB, in the June 26, 2008 District of Columbia
et al. v. Heller US Supreme Court majority opinion syllabus stated,
"The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a
±rearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for
traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home."
[ ]
The McDonald Cit of Chicago (2010) r ling also stated that the
The United States has 88.8 guns per 100 people, or about 270,000,000 guns, which is the highest total and per capita number in the world. 22%
of Americans own one or more guns (35% of men and 12% of women). America's pervasive gun culture stems in part from its colonial history,
revolutionary roots, frontier expansion, and the Second Amendment, which states: "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."
Proponents of more gun control laws state that the Second Amendment was intended for militias; that gun violence would be reduced; that gun
restrictions have always existed; and that a majority of Americans, including gun owners, support new gun restrictions.
Opponents say that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to own guns; that guns are needed for self-defense from threats
ranging from local criminals to foreign invaders; and that gun ownership deters crime rather than causes more crime. Read more background...