Gun Ownership In America

Words: 1525
Pages: 7

Essay on Gun Ownership, the Gun Culture, and Gun Control
Introduction
According to Saul Cornell, author of A Well-Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America, the history and presence of guns in the United States has been debated by historians, gun advocates, and the general American public for more than two hundred and fifty years since the days of the American Revolution when the colonies won their independence from the tyrannical monarchy of King George III of Great Britain. The main sticking point is the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which declares that all Americans have the right to keep and bear arms for "self-defense, recreation, and if necessary, to take up arms" against their own government (2). However, this is not actually true, due to the fact that gun ownership in America was intended by the Founding Fathers as a protective measure related to maintaining a well-regulated militia or standing army composed of ordinary patriotic Americans.
Gun Ownership as a Civic Obligation Historically, the right to keep and bear arms as defined by the Second Amendment was originally created as way to guarantee that all American citizens would be armed
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Constitution and the Articles of Confederation were suitably clear in relation to gun ownership and the idea of a standing militia as outlined in the Second Amendment. Thus, the Federalists wished to see the newly-formed U.S. government as possessing the power to call up the militia when required so as to suppress insurrections or rebellions by the people against the government and to repel all outside invasions. Also, the Federalists wanted the states to have limited powers related to a standing militia, such as having the power to appoint officers and train the members of the militia (Cornell 43). The Federalist also preferred a regular army as opposed to a standing militia composed of ordinary gun-toting