Constitutional Rights to Bear Arms

The right to bear arms in the Constitution is one of the most controversial topics in the United States. The right to bear arms is the Second Amendment of the Constitution. The Amendment 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." The controversy occurs because some people feel that anyone should be able to own a gun and keep it in their homes while others think that the right to bear arms refers to having a gun to serve in a state militia.

In the case Parker v. District of Columbia, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to not allow people to keep guns in their homes for personal use. The decision was affirmed on June 26, 2008 in the case District of Columbia v. Heller. This was the first Supreme Court case that ever dealt with whether the right to bear arms stands for the personal possession of a gun or if it applies only to state-regulated militias. The original case also struck down provisions of the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975. The provisions that were struck down was that handguns were "arms" and could not be banned by the District of Columbia and that rifles and shotguns must be unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock. Even though the Supreme Court has made this decision this issue will still be debated for many years to come.