2nd Amendment Summary
Summary
The Second Amendment protects "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms" and states this right "shall not be infringed." Since 2008, the Supreme Court has interpreted this as protecting an individual right to possess firearms, unconnected to militia service, for traditionally lawful purposes including self-defense. However, this right is not unlimited and allows for various regulations consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Source:
SecondAmendment.net
Second Amendment Reference Library
https://secondamendment.net/concepts/militia/
In short: the Second Amendment protects a right of the people to own and carry weapons, and it explains that protection by pointing to the importance of a citizen militia.
Source:
SecondAmendment.net
Second Amendment Reference Library
The Legal Dispute
How much weight the explanatory first half carries was the central dispute in Second Amendment law until the Supreme Court resolved it in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), holding that the militia clause states a purpose but does not limit the right to militia members. The right is nonetheless "not unlimited": the same decision recognized that longstanding regulations — such as prohibitions on felons possessing firearms or carrying in sensitive places — remain permissible.
Source:
SecondAmendment.net
Second Amendment Reference Library
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