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.

The Second Amendment has become one of the most debated Amendments of the United States Constitution. When it was originally passed into law in the 1700's, it was basically understood as it was written; that citizen's have the right to keep and bear arms. It wasn't until the Twentieth Century that Americans started questioning it's meaning and attempting to interpret it based on their own principals and beliefs. It was mainly those considered influential who thought it a good idea to disarm the civilian population.

Those opposed to a citizen's right to bear arms say that the Second Amendment does not mean United States civilian's can keep, or bear arms. They claim the Amendment allows the "militia", or the National Guard (as we now know it), to carry and keep arms for the protection of a free state. They say it also allows for those in the military to arm themselves if needed for service. Had it not been for the preface of this Amendment, which states "A well regulated militia", it would be interpret

The National Rifle Association known as the NRA is the most vocal and the leader in the support and demand for the right of individuals to bear arms. They have millions of members worldwide and continually seek ways of educating the public and lawmakers of their beliefs.

The sometimes-explosive meetings between pro and con gun rights have been going on for most of the Twentieth century. With the hesitation of the Supreme Court to get involved, and the lack of lesser courts to make a decision, which can't be overturned, are not very likely in the foreseeable future.

The founding generations were very distrustful of active armies during peacetime. Many American citizen's believed due to past experiences that governments used armies to keep their own citizen's under control. They preferred that armies only be called to duty when needed for peacekeeping. Armies were considered to be full-time paid troops. The militia consisted of ordinary citizen's who were not paid and only worked part-time in the event of a sudden emergency.

Thomas Jefferson used parts of Virginia's Declaration of Rights in the opening paragraphs for the Declaration of Independence. Other colonies copied it also, and it became the basis of the Bill of Rights.

These founders recognized a very real difference between armies and militia. Armies were seen as a group of professional soldiers who were trained and given a salary. The militia was mainly a group of civilian's who were called upon to mee

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Approximate Word count = 996
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)