1. Second Amendment Civil Rights and Liberties
Max Klemp, Jason Gregg, & Logan Sleeman

2. “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.”
Second Amendment
The original intent of the amendment was to protect the rights of the states to maintain a militia for a check on federal power. It was not intended for individual use.

3. “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.”
Second Amendment
The current interpretation of the second amendment is a highly debated topic now. Through precedent set by DC vs Heller and McDonald vs. Chicago, you’re guaranteed the liberty to use guns after SCOTUS overturned firearm bans on weapons, implying a guns use for individuals as protection.

4. District of Columbia vs. Heller (2008)
Facts: D.C prohibited the registration of handguns, but the chief of police was still able to grant people handgun licenses good for 0ne year. Dick Anthony Heller, a special officer in D.C., applied for a one-year license for his handgun and was denied. As a result, he sued the District of Columbia, claiming that his Second Amendment right had been violated.

5. District of Columbia vs. Heller (2008) Cont.
Issue: Are the gun restrictions in the District of Columbia Code in violation of the Second Amendment?
Holding: The D.C. Circuit Court ruled that banning the registration of handguns and requiring guns in one’s home to be nonfunctioning violates the Second Amendment with a 5-4 majority.

6. District of Columbia vs. Heller (2008) Cont.
Reasoning: The Second Amendment is meant to give people the right to defend themselves with firearms. Restricting people’s ability to have functioning handguns in their home violates that right, as homes are often targets of life- threatening crimes. Also, interpreting “militia” as military- specific ignores the fact that, when the amendment was written, all healthy men capable of firing a gun were considered militia.

7. McDonald vs. The City of Chicago (2010)
Facts: After the city of Chicago implemented a law that limited the ability of its citizens to purchase and carry handguns and other firearms, Otis McDonald filed a suit to the US District Court.
Issue: Should the 2nd amendment apply to the states, and, in particular, the City of Chicago?

8. McDonald vs. The City of Chicago (2010)
Holding: In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the 2nd amendment is incorporated.
Reasoning: The court ruled that it is an American right to carry and use handguns in traditionally lawful purposes such as self defense.

9. Pro Second Amendment Cartoons

10. Anti Second Amendment Cartoons

11. SCOTUS cases U. S. vs. Cruikshank, Presser vs. Illinois, and Miller vs
SCOTUS cases U.S. vs. Cruikshank, Presser vs. Illinois, and Miller vs. Texas all upheld the 2nd amendment didn’t apply to states and gun laws were up to the states.
The National Firearms Act of 1934 was the first regulation on national use of firearms. It heavily taxed certain gang related firearms and required a registration of weapons.
Federal Firearms Act of required a federal firearms license and restricted certain populations from purchasing guns.

12. United States vs. Miller stated that congress could regulate certain guns
Gun Control Act of 1968 further limited certain populations from buying guns and types of weapons supported by 2nd amendment.
Firearms Owners Protection Act 1986 decreased regulations on gun checks and ammunition sales.

13. Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 made background checks required for gun purchases and established the NICS system.
Assault Weapons Ban also the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act enforced a ban on assault weapons and weapons over a certain ammunition limit.

14. Videos
Piers Morgan Video
History Video
Militia Only Myth