Establishing the Constitution

The Constitution of the United States established a

union of sovereign states. It was first ratified in 1787,

and later modified to include the first ten amendments, also

known as the “Bill of Rights.” These amendments were added

as a way to insure American citizens of their rights. One

of the earliest amendments passed is also one of the most

controversial now. The 2nd Amendment to the

Constitution, “the right to 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” is the

topic of much controversy. Many people believe the

amendment has outlived its usefulness. Others believe it is

interpreted incorrectly by much of the nation. Also, many

people feel that the regulations placed by the government to

control gun violence in America have been unsuccessful and

irrelevant. The 2nd Amendment to the Constitution is

outdated and should be modified again to pertain better to

modern times.

First, when added to the United States Constitution in 1791,

one major point of the 2nd Amendment was meant to allow free

citizens the right to keep and bear arms. In those

days, “arms” referred to a hunting rifle for means of

protection and necessity. Much of the land at that time was

farmland, and the farmers had a right to protect their land,

because there was not an establishment devoted to protection

like a police department. Also, many times in those days,

you only ate what you could harvest, catch, and trade for.

For this reason, a hunting rifle was necessary in order to

catch food and access fur to be used for trading. If people

still only possessed hunting rifles and guns of that

category, there would be little controversy over this

amendment. However, many households these days contain at

least one handgun. There is a common phrase that “guns

don’t kill people, people kill people.” But, if these

people were not in the possession of a gun, then they would

have to find a different, more difficult way to kill another

person. Although handguns do occasionally provide

protection from intruder, there is little need for one in

the household. In the old days people needed a firearm to

protect their land and family. Nowadays, we have laws and a

police force that take care of protection for you.

Therefore, the 2nd Amendment has outlasted is usefulness and

is out of date.

The other side of the argument, supported by many including

the likes of the National Rifle Association and other

organizations, is that the amendment says in plain English

that every citizen has the right to bear arms. What these

people