Banning of gun ownership in the united states - Research Paper Example

The proponents of gun ownership rights believe that the Second Amendment is a guarantee of every individual to own and use arms for self-protection, protection of property, home, family, etc. Second Amendment is also perceived to be a collective right of states, not individuals to form armed militias for protection (Carter 24). As James Madison, its author explains “its purpose is to split the military power of the new nation between the states and the federal government” (Horwitz 20).

However, some scholars believe that both views fail to be true; there is a “lack of understanding of the eighteenth century world in which the Second Amendment was drafted and adopted” (Cornell 161 cited by Carter 24) and it results in misinterpretation of the law by contemporary Americans. Whatever the initial idea was, this Amendment has caused a plethora of debates about the right of Americans for gun ownership and its potential benefits and threats to the society. These debates are occasionally warmed up after news announcement of loud gunfire incidents or mass massacres.

Thus, the proponents and opponents of the gun ownership in the United States become more certain in their views, and either agree or disagree with the Supreme Court decision legally approved in 2008. Instead of keeping a state monopoly in legal violence, the Supreme Court has empowered every American with an indirect right of gun ownership, and thus turned every individual into “a one-person army”, ready to attack his family, neighbors and public places (Kilgore 10). To support this claim, below is given a brief overview of the current state of Gun Regulation in the United States.