Gun Control and the Second Amendment

The Second Amendment to the Constitution says, “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” (Agresti, 2009, para. 2). Based on a simple reading of this, it would seem that people do have the right to own and use firearms. So why are so many people trying to ban guns? Maybe it is because they do not understand what the Second Amendment actually means. Maybe it is because the media only reports the crimes committed with guns and not the lives saved with them. What would happen to the crime rate in the United States if guns were banned altogether as other countries have done? While some people think guns should be banned, it has been proven that criminals will still find ways to obtain them and the crime rate will rise. The Second Amendment guarantees citizens the right to bear arms. Some people may wonder how that conclusion can be made because the Second Amendment refers to the militia. What does the word militia mean? A militia (n.d.) according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “the whole body of able-bodied male citizens declared by law as being subject to call to military service.” This means that every man who is able can be called to duty in an emergency. Does this mean they are in the armed forces? That answer is clearly no. What this means is that if there is an emergency beyond the military’s capabilities, regular, ordinary citizens may be called to help. Because ordinary citizens need to be prepared in case of an emergency, they need to be allowed to own guns. People who are against the right to bear arms are trying to redefine the word militia. Their claim is that the militia refers to the armed forces, such as the Army Reserves or the police force. While the armed forces may be part of the militia, so are ordinary citizens. Citizens also need the ability to protect themselves and their families in case of an emergency. Some people

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