Argumentative Essay: The Second Amendment In The United States

The Second Amendment The Second Amendment has been heavily debated for years. This in itself is humorous considering how easily it became an Amendment. When it was written, people gave it little thought, as it was considered normal; “the Amendment was easily accepted because of widespread agreement that the federal government should not have the power to infringe the right … anymore than it should have the power to abridge the freedom of speech … ” (Lund). Our Founding Fathers considered that the Second Amendment was essential to keeping their freedoms (Latimer).
Many believe that the Second Amendment was written as an individual right, while others argue that it is not. When the amendment was first written, the militia was comprised of American citizens that were required to bring their own weapons to battle. Being able to participate in this patriotic endeavor would be nearly impossible without being able to own a gun. As the Bill of Rights was being written, citizens of the colonies were still very much concerned about a government gaining too much power; The Second Amendment was written as a way to keep that from happening. The Second Amendment was first written as a means for citizens to be able to protect themselves from

Citizens today, would not be able to stop the American Military, but it does not matter, because they do not fear it either (Lund). Nowadays, the biggest concern for people are common criminals. The Second Amendment is no longer about tyranny, but instead about protecting ourselves from robberies, invasions, and other common crimes. In 2008, the Supreme Court shut down the debate about the Second Amendment being an individual right, by ruling that “the language and history of the Second Amendment showed that it protects a private right of individuals to have arms for their own defense, not a right of the states to maintain a militia.”