2nd Amendment

The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States Bill of Rights 

The 2^nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is a part of the Bill of Rights. The 2^nd Amendment protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms.  This amendment along with others contained in the Bill of Rights was adopted on December 15, 1791. 

The wording of the second amendment (Amendment II) is as follow;

“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 Supreme Court issued two landmark decisions in 2008 and 2010, officially establishing the interpretation of the Second Amendment.  The Court ruled the Second Amendment protects an individual’s rights to possess a firearm, unconnected to service in a militia and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home within many longstanding prohibitions and restrictions on firearms possession listed by the Court as being consistent with the Second Amendment; District of Columbia vs. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008).  In 2010, the Court ruled the Second Amendment limits state and local governments to the same extent that it limits the federal government; McDonald vs. Chicago, 561 U.S. 3025.