The Second Amendment

     “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.”

     This timeless phrase, the Second Amendment of the United States’ Constitution, is an enduring example of the principles and ideals that our country was founded on. With this statement, the founders of this country explicitly and perpetually guaranteed the American individual the right to keep and bear arms. An incomparably crucial element of this country‘s origins, the Second Amendment and the rights it guarantees have proved vital to the growth and success of our nation.

     The Second Amendment has often been the subject of debate, and over the years varying speculations and interpretations of its intended meaning have forced this significant phrase into a controversial spotlight. Many Americans question the importance and legitimacy of the Second Amendment, claiming that it is outdated and invalid. An increasing number of people feel that the Second Amendment should be fully eradicated from the Constitution, and new restrictions outlining firearm ownership should be implemented. Furthermore, in addition to questioning the validity of the phrase, many people question the literal meaning of the Second Amendment. Through critical analysis of the text itself, including tedious speculation of grammar and punctuation, many people have concluded that the Second Amendment does not guarantee any rights to the individual, but instead asserts only that states have the right to form a militia, and that members of that militia can keep and bear arms. They claim, on the basis of loose interpretations of the Second Amendment, that the right to keep and bear arms was extended only as far as state militiamen, and was in fact never granted to individual countrymen.

     This conclusion, although widespread, is hardly valid. In the time of our fore-fathers, bearing arms was not only fully acceptable, but was ultimately necessary for the protection of the livelihood of the individual and for the preservation and prosperity of the nation. A nation of citizens with the right to bear arms demands the respect of their government and has the capacity to influence their own leadership; an unarmed population lives at the mercy of their administration. It is hardly conceivable that the drafters of the Constitution would incorporate a statement limiting the right to keep and bear arms to members of a state militia. To include this condition would ultimately have removed from practice the very entity that freed this country from oppression and gained us our independence: the right of the individual to keep and bear arms. The second amendment was not intended only to grant a privilege to a group, but to preserve the right of the individual.

     By expounding on our rights as individuals, we have directed the progress of this nation’s growth. Our past was shaped by the implementation of individual freedom, and it is imperative to the continued prosperity of the United States that we maintain our founding ideals, including those outlined by the Second Amendment.