American Heritage Scholarship Program September 18, 2018 The Second 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.” 1
2018 Essay Prompt How should the “right to bear arms” be interpreted and enforced in 2018? In a well-crafted, logical essay, take a stance on this issue and provide references to primary and secondary resources in support of your opinion. https://www.stancoe.org/division/american-heritage- scholarship-program 2
William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765) The constitution has “established certain other auxiliary subordinate rights of the subject, which serve principally as outworks or barriers to protect and maintain inviolate the three great and primary rights, of personal security, personal liberty, and private property . . . . “[T]o vindicate [the three primary rights], when actually violated or attacked, the subjects of England are entitled, . . . lastly, to the right of having and using arms for self-preservation and defence .” http://www2.law.ucla.edu/volokh/2amteach/sources.htm#TOC6 3
American State Constitutions (1776–1792) — Virginia (1776): “That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state . . . .” — North Carolina (1776): “the people have a right to bear arms, for the defence of the State.” — Pennsylvania (1776): “That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the state . . . .” — Vermont (1777): “the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the State.” 4
American State Constitutions (1776–1792) — Massachusetts (1780): “The people have a right to keep and to bear arms for the common defence.” — Pennsylvania (1790): “The right of the citizens to bear arms in defence of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.” — Kentucky (1792): “the right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.” http://www2.law.ucla.edu/volokh/2amteach/sources.htm#TOC1 5
State Ratifying Conventions (1788–1790) — New Hampshire (June 1788): “Congress shall never disarm any Citizen unless such as are or have been in Actual Rebellion.” — Virginia (June 1788): “That the people have a right to keep and bear arms; that a well regulated Militia composed of the body of the people trained to arms is the proper, natural and safe defence of a free State . . . .” 6
State Ratifying Conventions (1788–1790) — New York (July 1788): “That the People have a right to keep and bear Arms; that a well regulated Militia, including the body of the People capable of bearing Arms, is the proper, natural and safe defence of a free State . . . .” — North Carolina (November 1789) and Rhode Island (May 1790): essentially identical to Virginia. http://www2.law.ucla.edu/volokh/2amteach/sources.htm#TOC2 7
The Bill of Rights: “Rights of the People” — First Amendment : “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging . . . the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” — Second 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.” — Fourth Amendment : “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated . . . .” — Ninth Amendment : “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people .” 8
The Amendment in the 19th Century: NOT “Incorporated” — Barron v. Mayor of Baltimore , 32 U.S. (7 Pet.) 243, 247 (1833) (Marshall, C.J., for unanimous Court): The Bill of Rights “must be understood as restraining the power of the general [i.e., federal] government, not as applicable to the states.” — Presser v. Illinois , 116 U.S. 252, 265–266 (1886) (unanimous) (quoting United States v. Cruikshank , 92 U.S. 542, 553 (1876)): The Second Amendment “is a limitation only upon the power of Congress and the National government, and not upon that of the States. . . . ‘This is one of the amendments that has no other effect than to restrict the powers of the National government . . . .’ ” 9
19th Century State Constitutions — Ohio (1802): “That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the State . . . .” — Indiana (1816): “That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State . . . .” — Mississippi (1817): “Every citizen has a right to bear arms, in defence of himself and the State.” — Connecticut (1818): “Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state.” — Maine (1819): “Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms for the common defence; and this right shall never be questioned.” 10
19th Century State Constitutions — Alabama (1819): “That every citizen has a right to bear arms in defence of himself and the state.” — Missouri (1820): “that their right to bear arms in defence of themselves and of the State cannot be questioned.” — Washington (1889): “The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.” — Wyoming (1889): “The right of citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and of the state shall not be denied.” 11
19th Century State Constitutions — South Dakota (1889): “The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the state shall not be denied.” — Montana (1889): “The right of any person to keep or bear arms in defense of his own home, person, and property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall not be called in question, but nothing herein contained shall be held to permit the carrying of concealed weapons.” — Idaho (1889): “The people have the right to bear arms for their security and defense; but the Legislature shall regulate the exercise of this right by law.” http://www2.law.ucla.edu/volokh/beararms/statedat.htm 12
United States v. Miller , 307 U.S. 174 (1939) — Brian L. Frye, The Peculiar Story of United States v. Miller (2008), http://migration.nyulaw.me/sites/default/files/ECM_PRO_060964.pdf. — Nelson Lund, Heller and Second Amendment Precedent (2009), https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1235537. 13
United States v. Miller : Holding and Disposition “In the absence of any evidence tending to show that possession or use of a ‘shotgun having a barrel of less than eighteen inches in length’ at this time has some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia, we cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear such an instrument. Certainly it is not within judicial notice that this weapon is any part of the ordinary military equipment or that its use could contribute to the common defense.” 307 U.S. at 178. 14
United States v. Miller : Holding and Disposition “Most if not all of the States have adopted provisions touching the right to keep and bear arms. Differences in the language employed in these have naturally led to somewhat variant conclusions concerning the scope of the right guaranteed. But none of them seem to afford any material support for the challenged ruling of the court below.” 307 U.S. at 182. “We are unable to accept the conclusion of the court below and the challenged judgment must be reversed. The cause will be remanded for further proceedings.” 307 U.S. at 183. 15
“Somewhat Variant Conclusions”: Competing Interpretations — “Individual right” versus “collective right.” — “Standard Model” versus “States Rights Model.” Don B. Kates, Jr., Handgun Prohibition and the Original Meaning of the Second Amendment (1983), https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2953447. Glenn Reynolds, A Critical Guide to the Second Amendment (1995), https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=960788. Eugene Volokh, The Commonplace Second Amendment (1998), http://www2.law.ucla.edu/volokh/common.htm. 16
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