Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

Created on December 15, 1791, the **Second Amendment to the United States Constitution** is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that establishes the right of citizens to possess firearms for lawful purposes. It says, "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 ."

## Background 
During the time that America was being colonized by European countries, firearms were very important to colonists. When Europeans came to America, they brought with them the idea of land ownership by an individual. They received this right from their king through land grants. The British kept few soldiers in the colonies, and colonists soon found they needed to establish militias. People still remembered Oliver Cromwell and his military dictatorship in England. The purpose of the Convention was to  the Articles of Confederation. But it became clear that many of its members, including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, wanted to create a new government rather than fix the existing one. The s elected George Washington to  over the Convention. They eventually agreed on agreed on Madison's Virginia Plan and began to make changes. The result was the Constitution of the United States and the present form of government. 

Originally, Congress suggested 12 amendments to the states. However, the states only ratified ten. The Bill of Rights, as the first 10 amendments came to be called, originally applied to the national government rather than to states.  This simplification has caused many debates over gun ownership and individual rights. Historians, judges and others have repeatedly looked for the intended meaning by the 18th century writers of this amendment.  It made the ban on guns by the District of Columbia .

The version passed by Congress and signed by President George Washington (but never ratified by the States) said:
:"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." The Court determined that Congress could keep people from having certain weapons (in this case, a sawed-off shotgun) because the shotgun would not help maintain a well regulated militia. The Court said the Second Amendment's purpose was to ensure the effectiveness of the military. The Supreme Court of the United States held in a 5-4 decision that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution applied to the Federal district and protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for lawful purposes. This struck down the D.C. handgun ban because it violated citizens' Second Amendment rights. The decision also called *United States v. Miller* an  to the general rule that Americans may possess firearms. The Court said:
** People who obey the law cannot possibly use sawed-off shotguns for any legal purpose
** Laws about similar weapons that cannot be used for any legal purposes would not violate the Second Amendment
** Laws that would keep criminals and the mentally ill from having guns would not violate the Second Amendment.
* In *McDonald v. Chicago* (561 U.S. 742 (2010)), the Supreme Court said in a 5-4 decision that the city of Chicago could not make it illegal for citizens to own handguns. The Court ruled that the right of an individual to "keep and bear arms" protected by the Second Amendment is incorporated by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The court held that it applies to the states.

## Notes 
## References 
## Other websites 
* High Court’s Gun Ruling Cites Intent of 14th Amendment
* Benjamin Netanyahu just made the single best argument EVER for the Second Amendment 
* Should guns be banned in America?