Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States 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.” The amendment, part of the Bill of Rights, was proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified by the states in 1791. However, many people, including legal scholars, disagree about its meaning.
Some people argue that the amendment grants ordinary citizens the right to own guns. According to these people, Congress proposed the amendment so Americans could protect their country in emergencies or overthrow their government if they decided it had become too corrupt. Historians point out that Congress recommended the amendment in response to fears that the Constitution gave the government too much power.
Other people claim the amendment only grants the states the right to organize some of their citizens into state-run militias. They argue that it therefore gives Americans in general no right to own firearms.
The Supreme Court of the United States has decided few cases involving the Second Amendment. It has generally allowed extensive federal and state control of firearms. However, in June 2008, the court ruled as unconstitutional a Washington, D.C., law that strictly limited the possession of handguns in the district. By a 5-4 vote, the court ruled that the Constitution protects not only the rights of states to maintain militias, but also the rights of citizens to own a gun for such purposes as self-defense and hunting.
