The Second Amendment: how often do people misinterpret it?

Introduction 

Attention Getter 

Do I have any gun owners in here? According to statistics from Gallup.com, 30 percent of Americans own guns and 43 percent live in a households with someone that owns a gun. Regardless of gender, education, income, race, ideology, and political views. Americans have a right to own a gun to defend themselves according to the 2 nd Amendment of the Constitution. 

Reason to Listen 

The Second Amendment as we know it is under siege and almost half of the US population could be affected if new gun laws are imposed. It is essential to be knowledgeable about the right to own guns and protect yourself. From the original to the living document, the Second Amendment gave unlimited authority to the people to protect themselves by possessing arms. 

Credibility 

I have extensive experience in weapons handling as a veteran and a civilian current gun owner. 

I have read and studied the Bill of rights and done my intense research on the internet regarding the Second Amendment, local laws and federal laws. 

Thesis and Preview 

To begin with, I will state the 2 nd Amendment’s original wording and secondly, I will discuss the case of U.S vs Miller. 

Body 

First, I will discuss general overview of this Second Amendment. 

Specific Instance: According to the U.S constitution, this Amendment outlines that "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” (US Constitution, 2012). At the time of drafting it, the State did not have the full power and ability to protect its people. 

Statistic: Recently, there have been extensive discussions and legislative actions concerning the Second Amendment regarding the purchase and possession of firearms ( Van Alstyne, 1993) . Besides, there have been proposals to limit the ownership of ownership by Americans. 

Secondly, I will talk about a case involving the Second Amendment, U.S v Miller. 

Expert Testimony: According to Brian Frye in “The peculiar story of the United States v. Miller,” in 1938, the police took Jack Miller and Frank Layton into custody for defying the National firearms’ act since they had an unregistered sawed-off shotgun (Frye, 2008). 

Factual Illustration: The district court dissolved Jack Miller’s case, claiming the Second Amendment’s violation by the NFA. However, regarding to U.S v. Miller case, the supreme reversed the case claiming that the Second Amendment, as a matter of law, does not guarantee the legality of keeping a sawed-off shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches long since it has no reasonable relation to preserve the use of it effectively in a regulated militia. 

Now that we have learned about the Second Amendment, I will discuss the significance of militia as used in the Second Amendment. 

Factual Illustration: Basing on the case of the U.S v. Millers, the court argued that militia was composed primarily of civilians and occasionally soldiers. Besides, the State could only rely upon this force to secure the laws and also for defense. The State could rely on a force of all males physically fit and capable of showing up when called upon with firearms supplied by themselves. 

Analogy: Today, gun laws are more complex and controversial. However, the federal government should not take from the people the right to purchase and own firearms for self and state protection, just like the freedom of worship and freedom of speech (Levinson, 1989). The supreme court treats the Second Amendment this way until recently. 

Conclusion 

Summary 

Today, the speech has covered the Second Amendment and how often people, including lawmakers, misinterpret it. Besides, I talked about the case of the U.S v. Miller with regards to the second Amendment. Finally, I discussed the significance of militia as used in the Second Amendment. 

Reason to Remember 

It is vital to be knowledgeable about the Second Amendment of the constitution to protect your rights since it is a commonly misinterpreted section of the Bill of rights. 

Tie Back to Introduction 

In conclusion, remember the Second Amendment that was drafted to enable people to protect themselves, and is now being challenged by today's political and social environment. 

References 

US Constitution. (2012) The Constitution of the United States of America and Selected Writings of the Founding Fathers. Barnes & Noble. 

Frye, B. L. (2008) Peculiar Story of United States v. Miller.  NYU Journal of Law & Liberty ,  3 , 48. 

Levinson, S. (1989) The embarrassing second Amendment. The Yale Law Journal ,  99 (3), 637-659. 

Van Alstyne, W. (1994) Second Amendment and the Personal Right to Arms, The.  Duke LJ, 43 , 1236.