Second Amendment

The Second Amendment has been one that has been under much scrutiny and is the topic of controversy in recent years. Included in the Bill of Rights, the Second Amendment protects the United States citizens’ right to keep and bear arms.

The interpretation and application into legislature of the Second Amendment has been an issue that has been met with disagreement and varying degrees of understanding. The issue of gun control has been the subject of heated debates.

Regardless of the current issues of controversy surrounding the Second Amendment, it has, at its core, the protection of the individual in terms of the self, property, and commonwealth. American history has provided for a keen association with firearms and the United States.

In essence, firearms have been a tool that has been employed to forge some of the most important aspects of American society--namely, the creation of the United States itself. The Second Amendment not only protects a basic human and civil right, but in essence, also protects an important aspect of American folklore and culture.

When first enacted, the Second Amendment was considered as an important protection from the unfair and undemocratic imposition upon the people. Along with this view, other purposes under the Second Amendment include participation in law enforcement, the practice of the natural right of self-defense, and deterring invasions and uprising. However, even though these purposes still have applications in modern American society, the issue of firearms and crime in the United States has made it necessary to re-evaluate how the Second Amendment, as it originally prescribed, applies today (See Also: Gun Laws: Guns and Crime Rate; Gun Laws: Reform Movements and Ideas).