Gun Control

The Right to Bear Arms

Many debates, discussions, and court cases have addressed this issue. A closer look at the views of the framers of the Constitution, including their personal notes and earlier drafts of the Second Amendment, indicates that the framers believed individuals do indeed have a “natural” right to bear arms (Dawlut 1997; Kopel and Little 1997; Dennis 1995).

Few Supreme Court cases have addressed the right to bear arms issue directly, and what they have stated has also been open to interpretation. Presser v. Illinois (1886), Miller v. Texas (1894), and Robertson v. Baldwin (1897), either directly or indirectly, support the individual right to bear arms (Kopel and Little 1997). However, in Presser v. Illinois and Miller v. Texas the Court upheld the view that regardless of the interpretation of the Bill of Rights, these rulings are meant to restrict the federal government and cannot be applied to various states.

The most notable (and most recent) case regarding the right to bear arms was United States v. Miller (1939). As in previous cases, interpretation of the Court's ruling has led only to more debates regarding gun control. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that

Gun control lobbyists argue that this ruling supports their view that the Second Amendment does not necessarily provide each individual with the right to bear arms. Gun lobbyists argue that, in the light of previous cases and the specifics of this case, people do have the right to bear arms.

Federal and State Laws regarding Gun Control

Controversy over the language of the Second Amendment and Supreme Court cases that have addressed the right to bear arms does not necessarily explain the current debates on gun control. Lobbyists for gun control argue that tougher restrictions on guns are needed to curb gun-related violence. Gun lobbyists argue that tougher gun restrictions will not make people's lives safer. Gun lobbyists also do not want gun control measures to infringe on an individual's rights.

The United States has about 20,000 gun control laws. However, these laws are mostly state or local laws. Such laws vary widely from state to state. In “Gun Control in the United States: A Comparative Survey of Firearms Laws” (Open Society Institute [Page 809]2001), the Center on Crime, Communities, and Culture at the Open Society Institute reported that thirty-five states have neither registration nor licensing requirements for any type of gun, thirty-one states have no waiting periods for handguns, and only two states have banned private assault weapons.

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