Gun Rights Legislation in the US

I Plead the Second Gun Rights Legislation in the US Allie Fecke #1 , Aneesh Mazumder #2 , Valeria Velez, #3 Sydney Rehm, #4 Gracie Adams, #5 Elizabeth Miller #6 # Foreign Policy, Institute for Youth in Policy 1700 Van Ness Ave #1143, San Francisco, CA 94109 Keywords— gun legislation, restrictions, 2nd Amendment, Bill of Rights, regulation I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Since the ratification of the Constitution in 1788, the rights codified in the Bill of Rights have been fiercely protected by the American people. However, interpretations of those rights often differ as people, society, and governmental structure changes. One of the most fraught amendments is the Second Amendment, which preserves the right to bear arms. While the debate over gun rights and restriction is not likely to be resolved in the near future, ongoing efforts to protect the lives of American citizens and limit gun violence may change the way our rights are protected. I. CONSTITUTIONAL DEBATE America's unique relationship with guns goes back to its very own foundation. In an attempt to throw off the yoke of British colonialism, our founding fathers drafted the Second Amendment to the Constitution. Contained in the bill of rights, the amendment explicitly states “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”. This has become one of the most head-scratching pieces of legislation, raising questions on who and what the amendment includes and contains. Despite this, the Second Amendment lived under the radar for years, with few attempts to regulate or enforce it. Though few pieces of legislation were passed, some bear the need to draw attention to them. For example, the first piece of national gun legislation was passed in 1934. The National Firearms Act was meant to curtail gang crime by imposing a tax on the manufacturer, sale, and transportation of firearms. Four years later, the Federal Firearms Act was passed. The two main provisions of this act were the requirement of a license to work with firearms and a mandated customer record, as well as a defined list of people (mainly felons) who could not purchase guns. Only a year later, the Supreme Court heard the case of U.S. v. Miller, ruling that through the National Firearms Act of 1934, Congress could regulate the interstate selling of a short barrel shotgun, stating that there was no evidence that a sawed-off shotgun had a relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia. In 1968, President Johnson pushed for the passage of a Gun Control Act following the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Rob Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Junior. This act banned the importation of guns that had "no sporting purpose", as well as imposed age restrictions. In 1986, the Firearm Owners Protection Act was promoted, mainly enacting protections for gun owners including the prohibition of a national registry. Then, in 1994, a bill was passed banning the sale, manufacturing, and the possession of any assault weapons. In effect until 2004, the effect of the bill was heavily debated. In a September 2004 article from the Associated Press, then-Rep. Butch Otter, R-Idaho, said that the ban "provided only the illusion of reducing gun violence, but it did real damage to our liberties." However, one of the most cited studies from the same time, funded by the Department of Justice, found that the number of gun crimes involving automatic weapons dropped by 17% in the six cities involved in the study during the ban. The Supreme Court was noticeably silent on the issue of interpretation of the Second Amendment until 2008, when they decided the case District of Columbia v. Heller. Dick Heller, a resident of Washington D.C., 1

Gun Rights Legislation in the US

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