The Second Amendment

by

Steven Weir
Sweir112@email.itt-tech.edu
14491334
Network Systems Administrator

Paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
EN 1320 A6 Sept 2012

ITT Technical Institute

March 4, 2013

Introduction On December 15, 1791 ten amendments to the Constitution of the newly formed United States of America were put in effect, these were called the Bill of Rights. The second article of this document reads; “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” (James Madison, 1791) Many people are familiar with the Bill of rights, such as the First Amendment which guarantees the right to free speech, or the Third Amendment which protects people from housing soldiers unwillingly. Now, why did the founding fathers put these Rights into law? Was it perhaps because they had just fought a bloody war for their independence from a nation that restricted the rights of the people? And why is the second article (That’s the second most important right) about ownership of firearms and militias? Is it because they had firsthand experience about what happens when you take away the right to bear arms? Today, laws are in effect that hamper the ability for citizens to own and carry firearms. A crucial right to the inhabitants of the United States has already been infringed by gun regulations and there is no end in sight to the passing of laws that restrict the access and use of firearms. An example of how restrictions on guns caused more harm than good happened in 1998 in Massachusetts. Lawmakers banned semiautomatic “assault” weapons, imposed strict new licensing rules, prohibited anyone convicted of a violent crime or drug trafficking from ever carrying or owning a gun, and enacted severe penalties for storing