Second Amendment Usa

The United States Constitution states that U.S. Citizens have the right to bear arms. Although this guarantee was written with no restrictions, there are now laws that have been made to limit certain aspects of the ownership of guns. Though there may be many reasons why private ownership of firearms should be banned, mainly safety, these arguments are far outweighed not only by the need for protection, but because the limitation of ownership rights of firearms could become dangerous to personal rights and freedoms. The second amendment was made to respond to being helpless before a standing professional army arrives. Aristotle once said that the decisions of a leader "backed by a standing army" would be different from those made by a leader "awed by the fear of an armed people."

The Constitution does not guarantee the right to bear arms just for the sake of guaranteeing a right. The second 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." Elbridge Gerry, one of the delegates from Massachusetts at the Constitutional convention, was an active supporter of the right of the Militia to bear arms. When asked what use a Militia had, he responded: "What sir, is the use of a Militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty." (http://www.history.army.mil/books/RevWar/ss/ch4.htm)

The main argument for gun control is the want for personal and public safety. The misuse of guns is not an unusual case. In one example, a man in NewYork City was being threatened on the subway. As a method of self defense he used a concealed weapon in order to protect himself by shooting the offenders in the back. However, he not only shot them in the back once but a second time. He was not charged for the first shot for it was considered to be self-defense but he was convicted for the second because it was deemed as unnecessary.

The Constitution states in the second amendment that citizens have the right to bear arms. Like most amendments, it is written broadly so that it can be interpreted in various ways to be molded to fit the changing times and opinions. The right to protect oneself is the most basic right of individualism and the right to bear arms is no different. U.S. citizens have the right to bear arms so that the most basic rights, as stated in the Constitution, of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness can be preserved, and with force if necessary. Having the opportunity to protect ourselves from others with deadly force preserves our right to life, being able to protect ourselves from the oppression of a government, with weapons that can threaten it, preserves our right to liberty. The preservation of both these rights can be related to our right to have the pursuit of happiness because we as human beings cannot be happy without