I will be making notes as I read this progressive study of the Second Amendment. The author is a law professor at NYU.
Second Amendment
"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."
Chapter One "Patriot's Day"
The author gives the reader a capsule history of militias in this country. This is important since the second refers to a well-regulated militia. The point of the book is that until the Heller Supreme Court decision, the Second Amendment was universally considered to refer ONLY to militias. Scalia's Heller decision said the Second provided a personal right to firearms although it left ambiguous legal restrains that might be put weapon possessions. Chapter Two "Ratification"
The ratification of the Constitution is a well-chronicled story generally. I don't see it as especially relevant in understanding the second amendment.
Summary: The Heller decision was later added to the states. The states must respect a citizen's right to own a firearm. Scalia and his 4 henchmen reversed over 200 years of understanding the Second Amendment as referring only to possession of firearms in the service of militias to a right of the citizen to own a personal firearm. The decision is supposedly based on Scalia's originalist way interpreting the Constitution, but this author says the ruling is not based on originalism. Ramifications of this ruling will continue for years as to what kind of restrictions are Constitutional regarding gun possession.
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