Box Elder Wildlife Federation

[bewforg]

For several years, especially during the 1990's, you have probably been told by certain vested interests that the Second Amendment RIght To Keep And Bear Arms belongs to the State's Militias. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and you should know the facts. Below is a brief portion of the latest report from our Department of Justice. Of course, you are aware that a recent occupant of the DoJ post, under another President, had a much different opinion.

Here for your information is the present DoJ position. If you would like to know the reasoning and background, please follow the link.

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WHETHER THE SECOND AMENDMENT SECURES AN INDIVIDUAL RIGHT

The Second Amendment secures a right of individuals generally, not a right of States or a right restricted to persons serving in militias.

August 24, 2004

MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL


We conclude that the Second Amendment secures an individual right to keep and to bear arms. Current case law leaves open and unsettled the question of whose right is secured by the Amendment. Although we do not address the scope of the right, our examination of the original meaning of the Amendment provides extensive reasons to conclude that the Second Amendment secures an individual right, and no persuasive basis for either the collective-right or quasi-collective-right views. The text of the Amendment's operative clause, setting out a "right of the people to keep and bear Arms," is clear and is reinforced by the Constitution's structure. The Amendment's prefatory clause, properly understood, is fully consistent with this interpretation. The broader history of the Anglo-American right of individuals to have and use arms, from England's Revolution of 1688-1689 to the ratification of the Second Amendment a hundred years later, leads to the same conclusion. Finally, the first hundred years of interpretations of the Amendment, and especially the commentaries and case law in the pre-Civil War period closest to the Amendment's ratification, confirm what the text and history of the Second Amendment require.

US DOJ Opinion Complete Opinion With Background