the second amendment

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Kent State Constitution DayKent State Constitution Day

The Second AmendmentThe Second Amendment




Americans & FirearmsAmericans & Firearms

• Why do an estimated 60 million people own an estimated 200 million firearms?

a) Personal protectionb) Competitive shootingc) Recreational shootingd) Huntinge) Collecting




The Bill of RightsThe Bill of Rights

What are the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution?

• First 10 Amendments• Not granted by government• Define inalienable rights of citizens that

government can not regulate• George Mason authored these individual

liberties as a “champion for the people”.1

1 http://www.americaslibrary.gov





• The Second Amendment was not debated until long after it was ratified.

• No different from anything else in Bill of Rights

• Guaranteed as an Individual Right





• Two accepted versions exist of Second Amendment

• Versions vary slightly in punctuation and capitalization





“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.”

- National Archives, Scribe: William Lambert

“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.”

– As written by the House and Senate; ratified




What Does It mean?What Does It mean?

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State…”

• Begins with a declaratory statement

• Importance of militias to preserve freedom

• Many interpret this as having some impact on remainder of Amendment




What Does It Mean?What Does It Mean?

What was the authors’ intent for

“well-regulated?”

• Militia should carry common arms that all citizens could utilize

• Modern police departments have same rationale for their firearms policies




What Does It Mean?What Does It Mean?

“…the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

• Finishes with an operative statement

• Prohibits infringement of this innate right of the People




Enumerated RightsEnumerated Rights

How does the Second compare to other enumerations in the Bill of Rights?

“Congress shall make no law abridging… the right of the people… peaceably to

assemble…”-First Amendment to U.S. Constitution

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against

unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated…”

-Fourth Amendment to U.S. Constitution




The DebateThe Debate

To whom does the Second

Amendment apply?

a) Each U.S. State

b) A “collective right” of all U.S. citizens

c) An “individual right” of each U.S. citizen




Innate Individual RightsInnate Individual Rights

• The First, Fourth, and Ninth Amendments refer to a “right of the people” just as the Second Amendment does.

• The meaning of “people” is clearly evident when taking into consideration the intent of the Bill of Rights: Protecting the rights of individuals




The Right of the StatesThe Right of the States

• The Bill of Rights concludes with:

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the

States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

• If the authors wanted the right to keep and bear arms applied to “The States” they wouldn’t have said “The People”.




Those Sloppy FramersThose Sloppy Framers

“Interpreting the word ‘people’ in the Second Amendment to refer to the state governments

requires one to assume that the framers of the text were unbelievably sloppy or whimsical in their use of language.

If one is going to make assumptions like that, one might just as well go all the way and

assume that the Second Amendment uses the word "arms" to mean the upper

limbs of the human body.” - Source: A Primer on the Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms




Mandatory OwnershipMandatory Ownership

"If liberals interpreted the Second Amendment the way they interpret the rest

of the Bill of Rights, there would be law professors arguing that gun ownership

is mandatory."

- Mickey Kaus, Washington Post, Jan 8 1980, in op-ed by Michael

Kinsley.




The National GuardThe National Guard

Argument:• Some argue that the Second Amendment

only protects the National Guard.

Fact:• The National Guard was created in 1903

• Over 100 years after the Second Amendment was adopted




U.S. Supreme CourtU.S. Supreme Court

How has the United States Supreme Court ruled on the issue?




U.S. v. Cruikshank, 1876U.S. v. Cruikshank, 1876

• A U.S. Supreme Court decision quoted out of context to argue that the 2A is “not a right granted by the constitution”.

• The Court ruled in Cruikshank that the right pre-existed the constitution.




U.S. v. Miller, 1939U.S. v. Miller, 1939

• Mr. Miller was charged with possession of a shotgun

• He never appeared before the court and no one defended him.

• The State never argued a collective rights theory – Argued that the firearm he had was not a

weapon the “military” would use.




U.S. v. Miller, 1939U.S. v. Miller, 1939

• Miller decision usually taken out of context

• Does not dispel “individual right” interpretation

• Decided that Mr. Miller’s choice of arms was not “military grade”.




Roots of Gun ControlRoots of Gun Control

• Rooted in racism• Gun control in the United States has a

dark history of prohibiting “freed slaves” from taking up arms…

• Supreme Court ruled in Scott v Sanford (1857) that negroes could not be citizens because otherwise they would have the right to suffrage, to peaceably assemble, and to “keep and carry arms wherever they want.”




The State ConstitutionsThe State Constitutions

"That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State -- and as

standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that

the military should be kept under strict subordination to and governed by the civil

power."

- Vermont, Adopted 1777Least restrictive state; contributed to Second Amendment





“The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall

not be questioned."

- Pennsylvania, Adopted 1790





"That the right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State, shall

not be questioned."

- Kentucky, Adopted 1792(1 year after the Second Amendment)





"The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security; but standing

armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and shall not be kept up; and the

military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power.”

- Ohio Constitution, 1851





• Ohio’s current Constitution replaced this 1802 language:

"That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State; and

as standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, they shall not be kept up, and that the military shall be kept under

strict subordination to the civil power."




Concealed CarryConcealed Carry

• Most likely began in Vermont • 1903 Supreme Court ruling prohibited

licensing a city ordinance due to Vermont’s strong constitutional language.

• Today, anyone not committing a crime may carry a firearm in Vermont without a license.

• Does Vermont have “blood flowing in the streets”?




Vermont & Alaska CarryVermont & Alaska Carry

• Firearm Right activists consider “Vermont Carry” to be the gold standard.

• In 2003 the State of Alaska morphed Vermont Carry into their right to carry laws.

• In Alaska, a license to carry is optional for law-abiding citizens

• Does Alaska have “blood flowing in the streets”?




FloridaFlorida

• Florida became the right-to-carry trendsetter

• In an effort to combat rising violent crime the State enacted a licensing system that has become the national model for concealed carry reform.

• Subsequently, Florida has had crime steadily decrease




Nationwide CCW LawsNationwide CCW Laws




CCW MovementCCW Movement




Abolishing FirearmsAbolishing Firearms

• Many groups try to strongly restrict, regulate, or eliminate gun ownership.

• In 2005 Brazil had a simple Yes/No vote: Should every type of firearm and ammunition be banned from sales?

• In Brazil, every adult under 70 must vote.

• The ban was soundly defeated

• More than 64% of Brazilians voted No




Illegal ConfiscationIllegal Confiscation

• Confiscation of legal firearms is presumably illegal in the United States

• It occurred in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina

• Second Amendment designed to protect against this!

“No one will be able to be armed. We will take all weapons”

- New Orleans Deputy Police Chief Warren Riley, September 8th, 2005 (ABC News)




Law EnforcementLaw Enforcement

• “Police Chiefs’ Perceptions of the Regulation of Firearms” is a recent study to which Ms. Thompson contributed

• Implies that most large cities have anti-firearm police chiefs

• Reported that using police chiefs to support gun control might improve the successes of gun control groups.





• The National Association of Chiefs of Police (NACOP) surveys Chiefs of Police and Sheriffs annually.

• The 2006 survey was sent to 22,587 officers

• Opposed to Ms. Thompson’s study sent to just 600 big-city police chiefs.

• The survey consists of 33 “police” questions, but only 7 refer to firearms.




NACOP 2006 SurveyNACOP 2006 Survey

Should any law-abiding citizen be able to purchase a firearm for sport or self-defense?

Yes: 93.6%

Within the past year, has your agency been called upon to arrest anyone who has made a false statement on anapplication to purchase a firearm?

No: 92.2%

Should anyone (such as a convicted felon) in violation of state or federal firearm possession laws, be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney and, if convicted, receive a maximum prison term?

Yes: 89.7%

Do you believe law-abiding citizens should be limited to the purchase of no more than one firearm per month?

No: 72.8%

Do you maintain that criminals currently are able to obtain basically any type of firearm by illegal means?

Yes: 96.1%




NACOP 2006 SurveyNACOP 2006 SurveyDo you believe the application & training process to allow commercial airline pilots to carry firearms in the cockpit is too restrictive and burdensome?

No: 53.6%

Will a national concealed handgun permit reduce rates of violent crime as recent studies in some states have already reflected?

Yes: 63.1%

• These results are very different from Ms. Thompson’s

• Larger sample size

• Less bias – includes officers from all over the country, in all sizes of cities




Ohio CopsOhio Cops

• When working to pass Ohio’s CCW law we met regular opposition from:– The “Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police”– The Ohio Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)(The National “Grand Lodge” supports CCW)– The Ohio State Highway Patrol

• We regularly met support from the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association– Ohio’s Sheriff’s are the only elected law

enforcement in the State of Ohio.





"Those with the concealed-carry licenses have been good, law-abiding

citizens. The worst-case scenarios that were put out there about the gunfight at the OK Corral didn't come to fruition."

- Robert Cornwell, Executive Director of the Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association, in The Cleveland Plain Dealer





• Finding negative law enforcement opinions is just as easy as finding the opposite– Ohioans For Concealed Carry has

coordinated with Gahanna Police Chief Dennis Murphy, and his Deputy Chief, before legislative committees hearing testimony

– In most police departments the higher your rank the more likely you’ll tow the line of your city leadership




Thank you!

Ohioans For Concealed

CarryOhioCCW.org

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