2 nd Amendment Then and Now - PowerPoint Presentation

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2nd Amendment Then and Now

What will we learn?Founders intentChanging interpretationThe Supreme Court and the 2nd AmendmentIndividual v Collective Rights

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2nd Amendment

Mass shooting tragedies have renewed the national debate over the 2nd Amendment. 2

Over 200 years have passed since James Madison introduced the Bill of Rights

The country has changed, and so have its guns.

Is the right to bear arms now at odds with the common good, or is it as necessary today as it was in 1789?

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T.J.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."

-Thomas Jefferson, Proposed Virginia Constitution, 1776

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James Brady

For target shooting, that's okay. Get a license and go to the range. For defense of the home, that's why we have police departments.

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What is the debate with the right to bear arms?

How much can the government do to keep guns from criminals and youth?In order to keep guns away from criminals, does that limit the right of law abiding citizens?

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GUN CONTROL-

What Does That Even Mean????a set of laws and policies which place regulations on the manufacture, trade, possession, use, and transport of firearms.The term gun control is often politicized. Some of those in favor of legislation instead prefer to use terms such as "gun-violence prevention”"gun safety”

"firearms regulation”"illegal guns”"criminal access to guns"

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Gun Control Continued

Proponents of more gun control laws the Second Amendment was intended for militiasgun violence would be reduced that gun restrictions have always existedthat a majority of Americans, including gun owners, support new gun restrictions. 

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Gun Control Continued

Opponents of gun control say the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to own gunsthat guns are needed for self-defense from threats (local criminals to foreign invaders) that gun ownership deters crime rather than causes more crime. 

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Democrats vs Republicans

Typically: Democrats support gun control proposalsRepublicans support gun rights

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I like Guns….

There are an estimated 60 million gun owners in the U.S.: The United States has 88.8 guns per 100 peopleabout 270,000,000 guns for only 242 million adults living in the U.S.-highest total and per capita number in the world.

About 50% of those guns belong to just 3% of the adult population.22% of Americans own one or more guns

(35% of men and 12% of women).

130 million guns owned by 7.2 million people

These super-owners have anywhere between

eight and 140 guns

each (with the group average being 17)

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Guns in Colonial and Revolutionary America

At first for hunting and general self-protectionlater as weapons in the American Revolutionary WarGuns were common in colonial and revolutionary America, so were gun restrictions.

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America and Guns

America's

gun culture

stems in part from its

colonial history

,

revolutionary roots

,

frontier expansion

, and the

Second Amendment

-

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Colonial Gun laws

required that heads of households (including women) own guns all able-bodied men enroll in the militia and carry personal firearms. Some laws required "at least one adult man in every house to carry a gun to church or other public meetings" to protect against attacks by Native Americans; prevent theft of firearms from unattended homes A South Carolina law stated, safeguard against "insurrections and other wicked attempts of Negroes and other Slaves." Other laws required immigrants to own guns in order to immigrate or own land. 

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Restrictions Included

banning the sale of guns to Native Americans (though colonists frequently traded guns with Native Americans for goods such as corn and fur); banning indentured servants and slaves from owning gunsand exempting a variety of professions from owning guns (including doctors, school masters, lawyers, and millers)

A 1792 federal law required that every man eligible for militia service own a gun and ammunition suitable for military service, report for frequent inspection of their guns, and register his gun ownership on public records.

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2nd Amendment:

Right To Bear Arms“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to bear arms shall not be infringed.”

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Having just used guns and other arms to ward off the English, the amendment was originally created

to give citizens the opportunity to fight back against a tyrannical federal government

.

Background

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The Meaning

Determined by textual analysisThe notes from the Constitutional Convention do not mention an individual right to a gun for self-defense. Giving one reason doesn’t exclude the existence of othersDetermined by historical backgroundEnglish Common Law- English Bill of RightsFear of a standing army

Distrust of the power of government

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Competing Interpretations

There have been generally two distinct positions on what the 2nd Amendment means:Pro-gun interests emphasize the second half of the amendment and conclude that it guarantees the constitutional individual right to keep and bear arms.

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Competing Interpretations

2. Those who favor government restrictions on private gun ownership emphasize the first half of the amendment. They argue that it protects only a collective right or the states to arm their militias; there is no individual right, unless it is in conjunction with a state militia, to own firearms.Which one is correct?

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The Supreme Court and the Second Amendment 

While the right to bear arms is regularly debated in the court of public opinion, it is the Supreme Court whose opinion matters most. Yet despite an ongoing public battle over gun ownership rights, until recent years the Supreme Court had said very little on the issue.Here are some of the earliest 2nd amendment issues the courts heard19

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U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876)

One of the first rulings on the 2nd amendment by the U.S. Supreme Court. The case involved members of the Ku Klux Klan not allowing black citizens the right to standard freedoms, such as the right to assembly and the right to bear arms. As part of the ruling, the court said the right of each individual to bear arms was not granted under the Constitution. (states could restrict)

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Presser v. Illinois (1886)

Ten years later

, the court affirmed the ruling in

Presser v. Illinois

when it said that the Second Amendment only limited the

federal government

from prohibiting gun ownership,

not the states

.

The Supreme Court took up the issue again.

In this case, Dallas' Franklin Miller sued the state of Texas, arguing that despite state laws saying otherwise,

he should have been able to carry a concealed weapon

under Second Amendment protection.

The court disagreed, saying the

Second Amendment does not apply to state laws

, like Texas'

restrictions on carrying dangerous weapons

.

Miller v. Texas (1894)

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Early 2nd Amendment Cases

All three of the cases heard before 1900 cemented the court's opinion that the Bill of Rights, and specifically the Second Amendment, does not prohibit states from setting their own rules on gun ownership.21

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Federal Gun Laws in the 1900s

Feb 14th 1929- The St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago set off debates and laws to ban machine guns. National Firearms Act (NFA) 1934- imposed a $200 tax and a registration requirement on the making and transfer of certain guns, including shotguns and rifles with barrels shorter than 18 inches ("short-barreled"), machine guns, firearm mufflers and silencers, and specific firearms labeled as "any other weapons" by the NFA. Most guns are excluded from the Act.

The Federal Firearms Act of 1938 made it illegal to sell guns to certain people

(including

convicted felons

) and

required federal firearms licensees

(FFLs; people who are licensed by the federal government to sell firearms) to maintain customer records. 

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United States v. Miller (1939)

Jack Miller and Frank Layton were arrested for carrying an unregistered sawed-off shotgun across state lines, which had been prohibited since the National Firearms Act was enacted five years earlier.  Miller argued that the National Firearms Act violated their rights under the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court disagreed"in the absence of any evidence tending to show that possession or use of a 'shotgun having a barrel of less than eighteen inches in length' at this time has some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia, we cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear such an instrument."

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The Second Amendment and The Courts

In United States v. Miller (1939), the Court unanimously upheld the

National Firearms Act (1934) which required, among other things, owners of sawed-off shotguns to register with the federal government.Miller Ruling: 1939

Possessing a sawed-off shotgun is NOT related to the militia and not protected by the Second Amendment.

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United States v. Miller (1939)

The Court adopted the collective right point-of-view. "no evidence to show that these particular weapons had any relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia” -Majority opinion therefore they were not protected by the 2nd Amendment.

The justices also reasoned that because Article 1, Sec. 8 of the Constitution gives congress the power to call forth and arm the militia, but reserves to the states the power to appoint officers and train them, the 2nd Amendment was to aid in this process.

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Miller’s Aftermath

The effect of Miller was the militia view generally won out in America and federal gun control laws (such as requiring registration and banning handguns and automatic weapons) were passed and never struck down under 2nd amendment grounds.Because the Court did not recognize an individual right to keep and bear arms, state and local governments were free to regulate guns as they saw fit. As a result, pro-gun rights interest groups such as the

National Rifle Association (NRA) pressed for protections on the state level. It would be nearly 70 years

before the court took up the issue again

By 2008, 44 states had constitutional provisions that in one form or another protected the right to keep and bear arms. And 1/3 of these provisions have been enacted or strengthened since 1970.

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Federal Gun Laws in the 1900s

1968- prompted by the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy (1963), Malcolm X (1965), Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968), and Robert F. Kennedy (1968), as well as the 1966 University of Texas mass shootingPresident Johnson signed the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) which regulates interstate gun commerce, prohibiting interstate transfer unless completed among licensed manufacturers, importers, and dealers, and restricts gun ownership.

The Firearm Owners' Protection Act of 1986 (FOPA) revised prior legislation once again.  The Act allowed gun dealers to sell guns away from the address listed on their license; limited the number of inspections the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (now the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) could perform without a warrant; prevented the federal government from maintaining a database of gun dealer records; and removed the requirement that gun dealers keep track of ammunition sales. 

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Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 (Brady Act)

Federal Gun Laws in the 1900s

federal law which required a

five-day waiting period for a licensed seller to hand over a gun to an unlicensed person

. (Only in states without an alternate background check system)

The five-day waiting period has since been replaced by an

instant background check system

that can take

up to three days

if there is an inconsistency or more information is needed to complete the sale. 

Gun owners who have a federal firearms license or a state-issued permit are exempt from the waiting period

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Federal Gun Laws in the 1900s

The Federal Assault Weapons Ban -1994, The ban outlawed 19 models of semi-automatic assault weapons by name and others by "military features," as well as large-capacity magazines manufactured after the law's enactment. The ban expired on Sep. 13, 2004 and was not renewed due in part to NRA lobbying efforts.

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Assault Weapons Bans

Currently seven U.S. states have assault weapons bans: The majority of states, forty-three, have no assault weapons ban,There is not a statewide assault weapon bans in Illinois, but local bans exist in certain cities or counties in each of these states.

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Federal and State Gun Laws in the 2000s

Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act and Child Safety Lock Act of 2005 - gives broad civil liability immunity to firearms manufacturers so they cannot be sued by a gun death victim’s family. The Child Safety Lock Act requires that all handguns be sold with a "secure gun storage or safety device."The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Amendments Act of 2007

 -provides incentives to states (including grants from the Attorney General) for them to provide information to NICS including information on people who are prohibited from purchasing firearms. The NICS was implemented on Nov. 30, 1998 and later amended on Jan. 8, 2008 in response to the Apr. 16, 2007 Virginia Technical University shooting so that the Attorney General could more easily acquire information pertinent to background checks such as disqualifying mental conditions. 

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Collective v. Individual Right: Guns and the Supreme Court

Miller ruling to 2008- the Supreme Court repeatedly upheld a collective right (that the right to own guns is for the purpose of maintaining a militia) view of the Second Amendmentconcluding that the states may form militias and regulate guns

. 

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District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

The Facts1976 the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.)concerned with the high levels of gun-related crimepassed the nation’s most restrictive gun control ordinance. the law essentially banned the private possession of handguns.

shotguns and rifles could be owned, but only if the weapons were registered, kept unloaded, and disassembled or restricted by trigger locks.

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District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

The Facts1976 the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.)The law allowed the chief of police, under certain circumstances, to issue a one-year certificate to carry a handgun. Dick Heller, a D.C. police officer, had been granted a license to carry a handgun while on duty providing security at the Federal Judicial Center. Heller applied for permission to own a handgun for self-defense, but he was refused. Claiming that the District’s statute violated his Second Amendment right to bear arms, Heller brought a suit against the city.

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District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

An Individual RightJustice Antonin Scalia delivered the 5-4 majority opinionFor the first time, the Supreme Court ruled that despite state laws, individuals who were not part of a state militia did have the right to bear arms. struck down the DC law

declaring a right to own handguns for self-defense in the home.The Court engaged in both a textual and historical analysis of the 2nd

Amendment.

Scalia explained:

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District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

"The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.”Scalia concluded that in an era when there was no standing U.S. Army, everyone understood the right to keep and bear arms as an individual one in case a militia was necessary to fight oppressors if order broke down.“Putting all of these textual elements together, we find that they guarantee the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation. This meaning is strongly confirmed by the historical background of the Second Amendment.“36

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District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

An Individual RightScalia explained:the “right of the people” means an individual right as it is used elsewhere in the Constitution;“arms” applies “to weapons that were not specifically designed for military use and were not employed in a military capacity

” hence, non-military weapons are protected;“to keep arms” means “to retain… to have in custody… to hold; to retain in one’s power or possession

”

“bear” means to “

carry” for a purpose – confrontation

.

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Keeping the ball rolling….The court would rule on the issue again two years later as part of 

McDonald v. City of Chicago, which challenged the city's ban on private handgun ownership. 38

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McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

In McDonald v. Chicago (2010) the Court ruled 5-4 that the 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense applies to state and local governments as well as the federal government. Hence Chicago’s local gun ban was unconstitutional. Writing for four justices, Justice Samuel Alito held that the 2nd Amendment was incorporated via the 14th

Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

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Keeping the ball rolling….

2010 in McDonald v. Chicago the court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment, specifically the Due Process Clause, includes the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and, thus, the Second Amendment applies to the states as well as the federal government, effectively extending the individual rights interpretation of the Second Amendment to the states. 

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Federal and State Gun Laws in the 2000s

Voisine v. United States, 2016 the Supreme Court ruled (6-2) that someone convicted of "recklessly" committing a violent domestic assault can be disqualified from owning a gun Caetano v. Massachusetts, 2016- involved a woman who was in possession of a stun gun for self-defense against an abusive ex-boyfriend. Because stun guns were illegal under Massachusetts law, the woman was arrested and convicted for possessing the weapon.

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Federal and State Gun Laws in the 2000s

The case made its way to the Supreme Court, which ruled that stun guns and, indeed "all instruments that constitute bearable arms," are protected under the Second Amendment.On Feb. 20, 2018, the US Supreme Court indicated it would not hear an appeal to California's 10-day waiting period for gun buyers, thus leaving the waiting period in place. Justice Clarence Thomas said the Court should have heard the challenge, stating "The right to keep and bear arms is apparently this Court's constitutional orphan," in reference to the Court not hearing a major Second Amendment case since 2010. 

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Federal and State Gun Laws in the 2000s

In addition to federal gun laws, each state has its own set of gun laws ranging from California with the most restrictive gun laws in the country to Arizona with the most lenient43 of 50 states have a "right to bear arms" clause in their state constitutions.  

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Federal and State Gun Laws in the 2000s

The most common state gun control laws include background checkswaiting periodsregistration requirements to purchase or sell guns. Most states prevent carrying guns on K-12 school grounds and on college campuses.

Some states ban assault weapons. 

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Federal and State Gun Laws in the 2000s

Gun rights laws include:concealed and open carry permitsallowing gun carry in usually restricted areas (such as bars, K-12 schools, state parks, and parking areas). Open carry of handguns is generally allowed in most states (though a permit may be required).  Many states have "shoot first" (also called "stand your ground") laws.  

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The Current Gun Control Debate

Largely occurs after a major mass shooting. at least 126 mass shootings between Jan. 2000 and July 2014.  Proponents of more gun control often want more laws to try to prevent the mass shootings and call for smart gun laws, background checks, and more protections against the mentally ill buying guns. Opponents of more gun laws accuse proponents of using a tragedy to further a lost cause, stating that more laws would not have prevented the shootings. a Feb. 20, 2018 Quinnipiac Poll taken shortly after the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, 66% of American voters support stricter gun control laws

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the battle over gun rights continues at the state level. 

Research found that a mass shooting leads to a 15 percent increase in the number of firearm-related bills introduced into the state legislature that year. The more fatalities, the larger the increase in firearm bills. Despite the recent rulings, the debate on gun control continues. Incidents only serve as motivation for both sides to have their opinions heard and considered.47

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The National Rifle Association (NRA)

In 1993 the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) funded a study which was published, titled "Gun Ownership as a Risk Factor in the Home," which found that keeping a gun at home increased the risk of homicide.  The NRA accused the CDC of "promoting the idea that gun ownership was a disease that needed to be eradicated," and argued that government funding should not be available to politically motivated studies. The NRA notched a victory when Congress passed the Dickey Amendment, which deducted $2.6 billion from the CDC's budget, the exact amount of its gun research program, and restricted CDC (and, later, NIH) gun research.  

The amendment stated that "none of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control."  

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One of the most influential lobbying groups in Washington.

Actively lobbies against universal checks and registration, "large magazine” and "assault weapons bans”, requiring smart gun features, ballistic fingerprinting, firearm traces, and prohibiting people on the terrorist watchlist from owning gunsLobbying in favor of self-defense (stand your ground) laws.  Has over 4 million members NRA spending budget was $490.6 million in 2017

The National Rifle Association (NRA)

Self Proclaimed

"America's longest-standing civil rights organization.

"

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Pro-Gun: National Rifle Association

Influence legislation participate in or initiate lawsuitsAnd endorse or oppose various candidates. (rating system)

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Loophole?

Gun show loophole, gun law loophole, Brady law loophole (or Brady bill loophole), private sale loophole, and private sale exemption are political terms in the United States referring to sales of firearms by private sellers, including those done at gun shows, dubbed the "secondary market".

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Loophole?

Federal law requires licensed businesses dealing in firearms to conduct background checks on all buyers.But private sellers without a federal license don’t have to meet the same requirement. Though this exception is often referred to as the "gun show loophole," it actually applies more broadly to unlicensed individuals, whether they are selling at a gun show or somewhere else. (Some states have implemented their own background check requirement beyond federal law.)

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It’s not clear how many sellers are licensed and how many are not. Some studies are out of date.

Experts warn that the phrase "gun show loophole" is imprecise at best. But people do buy guns without having to undergo background checks.

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Arguments Against Gun Control

The natural right to self defenseThe ConstitutionThe deterrent effectThe swimming pool analogy (accidents in swimming pools)Demographic data in the U.S.U.S. is culturally and demographically different then Europe

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Arguments for Gun Control

Ease of killingPublic interest in keeping guns away from criminals & mentally illSchool and workplace shootingsIrresponsibilityAccidentsStolen weapons

The Constitution is an outdated, or living document

No need for a gun except hunting and target shooting today

Substance abuse related killings

Crimes of passion - temptation

People simply cannot be trusted with deadly weapons!

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Video Clip #1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD5l-Yft06Y55

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOJyN1NIU4U

Video Clip #2

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Gun Debate Continued…

People die every year because of guns.

Crimes are prevented because of guns.

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3rd Amendment

 "No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."Quartering- The act of a government in accomodating or assigning soldiers to private houses, without the consent of the owners of such houses, and requiring such owners to supply them with board or lodging or both.

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The Government cannot force you to shelter soldiers in your home

without your consent

in time of war or peace.

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3rd Amendment

 "No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."response to the Quartering Acts passed by the British parliament during the buildup to the American Revolutionary, it allowed the British Army to lodge soldiers in private residences.

one of the least controversial parts of the entire Constitution called it the "runt piglet" of the U.S. Constitutionto date, it has

never been the primary basis of a Supreme Court decision