The Department of Justice’s Position on the Second Amendment: Advancing the Nation’s Interest or Putting the Nation at Risk?

Authors

  • Jennifer Ray

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/lawreview.2003.24

Abstract

In the United States, there has been fierce debate over the Second Amendment and the scope of the right that it protects. Pro-gun enthusiasts as well as some academics and historians have fervently argued that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to bear arms. Subscribing to the “individual rights” view, they argue that the Second Amendment grants an individual the right to possess and use firearms for any purpose, subject only to limited government regulation. On the other side of the debate are gun control advocates, other academics and scholars who believe that the Second Amendment only protects the right to bear arms when related to a wellregulated state militia. Their view can be characterized as the “collective rights” interpretation of the Second Amendment. This group believes that the Second Amendment protects the people’s right to maintain effective state militias, but does not afford any type of individual right to own or possess weapons.

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Published

2003-04-01

How to Cite

Ray, Jennifer. 2003. “The Department of Justice’s Position on the Second Amendment: Advancing the Nation’s Interest or Putting the Nation at Risk?”. University of Pittsburgh Law Review 65 (1). https://doi.org/10.5195/lawreview.2003.24.

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Section

Notes and Comment