History of the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution Research Paper

History of the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution - Research Paper Example It is no wonder that different times have seen different interpretations of the statutes of the constitution in accordance with the needs and cognizance of the ruling class, and to a lesser extent, the citizens of the United States. What the founders of the nation meant by those statues, for the most part, has been lost to the numerous changes in the application of the Constitution. The text that is written, and the effects of it on the general public, can be so different from each other sometimes that leaves one wondering if indeed the Constitution itself had been followed. This is not only true for the Constitution, but for all forms of Law, be they judiciary, civil, or criminal. To some extent, it is explainable and even expected; given the rate at which the society is developing, and the sophistication and complexity that it is bringing with itself in every field and sector, it is imperative that changes in the context of established laws would take place. It is legal too, as long as such changes do not repeal the said laws in their entirety. Perhaps the article of law from the Constitution that has been the subject of most controversies, and is, paradoxically the most under-researched and less studied is the 2nd Amendment (Subcommittee on the Constitution). And perhaps it deals with the most controversial of the topics; the bearing of arms, as regards to th e current state of unrest and rampant threats of terrorism all over the nation. Hence, one can safely assume that what this amendment stands for today might not have been what it was aimed for when it was drafted, or even why the need to draft such a bill came into existence to begin with. These issues require an in-depth study of the amendment; what is most important in this case is the history of the 2nd amendment rather than its present form or its present context. This is because through the examination and understanding of the history o f this amendment can we hope to unearth its true meaning, context, and need for enactment, which will point the way to its proper application today. This in itself is important because there has been much debate over the meaning of the exact wordings of this amendment, which have caused a great deal of concern and argument in the recent times (U.S. Constitution Online). This has led to discrepancies in the court decisions among the different sta tes and different courts of the country. Maybe by studying the history of the amendment, it can be hoped to draft a unified meaning to this pertinent amendment with the aim of bringing harmony and unity to the court decisions and among the legal bodies, scholars, experts, and critics dealing with this amendment. This paper aims at discussing the history o f the 2nd amendment of the U.S. Constitution, bringing to light the many aspects of its blurred history, comparing it with the present day version of the different terms used in this amendment, and trying to established a set meaning to the amendment itself. The basic question to be answered would be: what the writers of the Constitution meant when they wrote the 2nd amendment. As will be seen from the study in the subsequent pages, there are quite a number of shades to its history, many of them quite controversial. We will begin by stating the 2nd amendment in its current form: â€Å"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to t he security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.† (U.S. Constitution Online). It is beneficial for the study to break the statement of the amendment into its three constituent parts, and to study the history of each phrase in order to understand the true meaning of the amendment as a whole. Let us begin by