Virginia Senator to Bring Back Expanded Background Check Bill

“It’s coming back,” said Virginia Senator Joe Manchin Tuesday about his bipartisan bill to expand background checks on gun sales, a bill which failed to pass on its first run through the Senate last month. [more]

HOUSTON - Members of the National Rifle Association were assured that they would never have to surrender their firearms. Along with this statement they were told that the fight against government gun control is far [more]

Senate Rejects Expanded Gun Background Checks

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans backed by a small band of rural-state Democrats scuttled the most far-reaching gun control legislation in two decades Wednesday, rejecting tighter background checks for buyers and a ban on assault weapons [more]

Day of Reckoning for Expanded Background Checks

D-Day: Today, consideration of the Manchin-Toomey background check proposal and a myriad other gun amendments, including a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity clips, will be the main event on Capitol Hill. The outcome of [more]

Deal Reached on Gun Background Check Bill

WASHINGTON - Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa. announced that they have reached a compromise bill on Wednesday that expands background checks on gun purchases, and possibly paving the way for votes [more]

Both Gun Control Parties Make Public Appeal

WASHINGTON — Two of the loudest voices in the gun debate say it’s up to voters now to make their position known to Congress. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and National Rifle Associate Executive Vice President [more]

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Origins and Purpose of the U.S. Second Amendment

The Second Amendment (Amendment II) to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects a right to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights. The American Bar Association has noted that there is more disagreement and less understanding about this right than of any other current issue regarding the Constitution.

Text of Amendment:

"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."

Origins:

Having been oppressed by a professional army, the founding fathers of the United States had no use for establishing one of their own. Instead, they decided that an armed citizenry makes the best army of all. General George Washington created regulation for the aforementioned "well-regulated militia," which would consist of every able-bodied man in the country.

Controversy:

The Second Amendment holds the distinction of being the only amendment to the Bill of Rights that essentially goes unenforced. The U.S. Supreme Court has never struck down any piece of legislation on Second Amendment grounds, in part because justices have disagreed on whether the amendment is intended to protect the right to bear arms as an individual right, or as a component of the "well-regulated militia."

Interpretations of the Second Amendment:

There are three predominant interpretations of the Second Amendment:

1. The civilian militia interpretation, which holds that the Second Amendment is no longer valid, having been intended to protect a militia system that is no longer in place.

2. The individual rights interpretation, which holds that the individual right to bear arms is a basic right on the same order as the right to free speech.

3. The median interpretation, which holds that the Second Amendment does protect an individual right to bear arms but is restricted by the militia language in some way.