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 second amendment to the Constitution of the United States is one of the most frequently debated by proponents and opponents.
The debate is generally focused on gun control and it is NOT the intent of this post to take a position either FOR or AGAINST gun control.
- The United States ranks as #1 in all the countries of the world as the country with the most guns. Currently there are approximately 1.126 guns per resident;
- The U.S. has the 31st highest rate of gun-related deaths per 100,000 people in the world: 3.85 deaths due to gun violence per 100,000 people in 2016.
In the 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court held that the “Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.“