The Second Amendment A Brief Overview

The History of the Constitution Signed in Philadelphia in 1787 Established a national government and fundamental laws Guaranteed U.S. citizens basic rights

Article 5 - Ratification of the Constitution Article 5 of the Constitution is the process to ratify the Constitution Requires two thirds of both Houses of Congress to propose an Amendment or Article V convention and ratified by a vote of three quarters of the states

Bill of Rights A ratification to the Constitution including 10 amendments “It’s my first amendment right to say that” “I plead the fifth [amendment]”

The II 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.” bill_of_rights_transcript.html bill_of_rights_transcript.html

Controversies "well regulated militia" "the right of the People" "keep and bear arms"

“Well Regulated Militia” Is this a prefatory clause? Is there a difference between owning firearms for self defense and owning firearms to form a militia?

The Right of the People Everywhere else that the words “the people” are written in the Constitution, it refers to everyone This means it is an individual right However, this contrasts with “[a] well regulated Militia” which implies only physically fit males within a desired age range

Keep and Bear Arms What type of arms? “bear arms” used to refer to carrying weapons while not in a militia Why did the framers not include any mention of self- defense?

Famous Court Rulings United States v. Cruikshank Presser v. Illinois United States v. Miller District of Columbia v. Heller McDonald v. Chicago

United States v. Cruikshank Post Civil War case which related to freed slaves not being able to assemble and bear arms due to the KKK The case ruled that the federal government was unable to file charges against citizens in a federal court if the citizens were violating the constitutional rights of another citizen It is the state’s duty to protect the rights of its citizens ml ml

Presser v. Illinois Herman Presser was in a citizen militia group which marched with swords and firearms The Illinois said that they were not allowed to continue since they were not an officially recognized Illinois Militia The court ruled that the Second Amendment gave citizens the right to keep and bear arms, but not to form their own militias Court also mentioned that the Second Amendment only restricted the federal government from regulating the individual right to keep and bear arms and that the second amendment does not prohibit individual states

United States v. Miller Filed in response to a prosecution under the National Firearms Act of 1934 NFA required some firearms to be registered with the Miscellaneous Tax Unit (today’s ATF equivalent) Essentially, the decision stated that a shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches is not used in a well regulated militia, therefore, the Second Amendment does not guarantee the right of the citizens to keep and bear such an arm Very controversial ruling which both Pro and Anti gun control activists claim a victory Case is one of the most cited Second Amendment related cases in Lower Court and Supreme Court rulings

District of Columbia v. Heller D.C. Law restricted residents from owning handguns and all firearms be kept unloaded and locked The court, in a 5-4 ruling, ruled that the “Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.” Widely considered to be one of the most important rulings in the Second Amendment history and has been frequently used as precedence in lower court rulings

McDonald v. Chicago Chicago banned the possession of Handguns Court case to decide whether or not the Second Amendment applies to individual states or just the Federal Government The Supreme Court, citing D.C. v. Heller, ruled that the Second Amendment protects the right to possess a handgun for self defense. “The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment right recognized in Heller.” States may still restrict possession of firearms by felons and mentally ill people and restrict carrying firearms in places like schools and government buildings Additionally, laws are allowed to be made about conditions and qualifications during the commercial sales of arms

Maryland Relevant Issues

Woollard v. Gallagher Challenging Maryland’s “may-issue” concealed carry laws District Court said that the Maryland law was too broad Appealed in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals which reversed the District Court’s ruling on the basis that Maryland had a good reason for wanting to reduce handgun violence Supreme Court denied a petition on October 15 th, 2013 However, the 9 th Circuit is hearing a De Facto ban on concealed carry in Hawaii as well as multiple lawsuits in California

SB 281 Related Lawsuits Challenging magazine size limits and the semi- automatic rifles banned on the basis that these are needed for self-protection Also, 10 round limits make many existing guns unusable due to the lack of manufactured 10 round magazines

Second Amendment Organizations Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) Gun Owners of America (GOA) Maryland Shall Issue (MSI) National Rifle Association (NRA) Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) Second Amendment Sisters Students for Concealed Carry on Campus U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA)