Second Amendment

In the Bill of Rights, the second amendment to the Constitution 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."

Gun control proponents argue the word “people” in this Amendment, refers not to the civilian population of the United States, but to the State National Guard Units. Gun rights proponents argue that the use of the word "Militia" in this Amendment, refers not to the State National Guard Units, but to the citizens of the United States. Some argue that since the militias are "owned," or under the command of the states, that the states are free to disarm their militia if they so choose, and therefore of course no individual right to keep arms exists. The Militia is not "owned," rather it is controlled, organized, by governments. The federal government as well as the states have no legitimate power to disarm the people from which militias are organized.

This amendment is argued about quite often, and is mentioned in the news almost daily. Some people believe that the government is the enemy, and citizens must continue to protect themselves. Some believe that the level of violence is so high in the United States because the number of guns available is too high, and too many people have guns. There is a popular saying that, "If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns." Another popular saying is, "Guns don't kill people, people do." If guns were outlawed criminals would still get their hands on guns from an array of illegal sources. The criminal would then have full advantage of his victim because he/she would know the victim is not in possession of a weapon.