How should the second amendment be interpreted Research Paper

How should the second amendment be interpreted - Research Paper Example For example, recent calls to control and even ban gun use as a response to increasing violence and murder in schools that involve guns such as the the recent shooting in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown inadvertently run counter to the basic Bill of Right of the Second Amendment. This is not the first however that this Amendment had been challenged and in fact, there were several court decisions made in the past that undermined this provision due to its unclear coverage and extent. For example, we can cite the U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876) case whereby it was often cited out of context with the claim otherwise that Second Amendment is "is not a right granted by the Constitution" (Guncite.com, 2010). This out of context interpretation also resulted in other flawed state regulation such as a provision in the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 law in the District of Columbia that requires all firearms including rifles and shotguns to be kept "unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock. The Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 also contained a provision that prohibits the residents of the District of Columbia from owning handguns except those that were registered prior to 1975. As expected, the law was challenged and was elevated in the Supreme Court. Until finally on June 26, 2008 the Supreme Court made a decision to affirm the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Heller v. District of Columbia. The Court of Appeals had initially made a decision to remove two provisions in the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 as unconstitutional. The provisions that were removed as unconstitutional were the provision that prohibits the residence of District of Columbia from the ownership of handguns except prior 1975 and the provision that requires all firearms to be "unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock" at all times. The decision elaborated that the Second Amendment â€Å"protects an individual right to bear arms† further stating its decision was "premised on the private use of arms for activities such as hunting and self-defense, the latter being understood as resistance to either private lawlessness or the depredations of a tyrannical government† (Library of Congress). Further, this right help preserve a citizen militia â€Å"the activities [the Amendment] protects are not limited to militia service, nor is an individual's enjoyment of the right contingent upon his or her continued or intermittent enrollment in the militia." (Guncite.com). With regard to handgun ownership, the Supreme Court thus decided that the District of Columbia cannot prohibit its citizen from owning such as guaranteed by the right enunciated in the Second Amendment albeit subjected to restrictions. The specific provision of Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 that specified that all firearms including rifles and shotguns be "unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock" was also struck down as unconstitut ional. Although the District asserted that there are exceptions to this provision, it still meant to a total prohibition on functional firearms that would be used for self defense. The court further exegete; Section 7-2507.02, like the bar on carrying a pistol within the home, amounts to a complete prohibition on the lawful use of handguns for self-defense. As such, we hold it unconstitutional. Further, in the original U.S. v. Cruikshank in 1876 case which is often misinterpreted

Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Speech - Essay Example Despite the infinite challenges, namely, being a non- English speaker, he fought fiercely and accomplished his dreams. In essence, Pulitzer is a central figure who tremendously helped in refashioning both the American media and politics. Even though, there are other people who assisted him in bringing reforms, his contribution is much felt even at the present moment. The manner in which journalism is consumed today, the very concept of its purchasing, the writing technique used, and the style applied among others are some of the contributions that Pulitzer provided in changing American Media and politics. In a way, he seems unfit for the role he played, because, at first he was a non – English immigrant, and that was the reason he joined St. Louis to learn German, and later interested in Immigrant politics. This was during the 19th century when Journalism and Politics were two different things in America. Â  During this time, journalism and politics were two a spects that never converged. For this reason, Pulitzer acted as a reformer. He purposed to transform and reshape journalism and politics since he believed this were two concepts that really mattered in reshaping the entire American human race. He intended to give journalism a new style of writing, since he believed that this would assist in fighting corruption that had crept into the government and the society. He published information that he deemed was important and that could disclose any corrupt deals in the government. He regarded journalism as a way that could bring reforms into the American society. In addition, we also learn that, American politics was reshaped through journalism. Every dark recess in the political government was disclosed for the purpose of accountability and transparency. This was very swift and many people were fascinated and interested to read newspapers