The second amendment to the constitution is one that seems to be infringed upon more and more as time goes on. This Amendment has turned into a very controversial topic over the past few years. The 2nd amendment of the constitution gives any citizen in the United States the right to own and posses guns. The right to bear arms in the United States has been challenged, and meet with great opposition. The reason that I choose to write on this topic is because of its very controversial nature. This amendment is a good case study on how the liberties bestowed on American citizens are being reinterpreted by today's government leaders.

The second Amendment was passed early in the United States history. The Amendment was proposed by Thomas Jefferson who is quoted as saying " Laws that forbid the carrying of arms....disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants." The second amendment was developed to give citizens a right to self defense. This amendment was adopted along with nine other amendments known as the Bill of Rights. Along with the second amendment the Bill of Rights sets up the base of liberties that our country now operates on.

The main interest involved in the development of the second amendment would be the right of ordinary citizens to self defense. In the seventeen hundreds when this Amendment was adopted to the constitution, there was very little opposition to the amendment. The amendment was opposed by very few people, because owning a gun was very common at that time. One of the main advocates of this amendment was Thomas Jefferson. With his support and the time in which the

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amendment was proposed, the amendment was passed along...