The Second Amendment in Law and History

by Bogus, Carl T.; Bellesiles, Michael A.

• ISBN13: 9781565846999
• ISBN10: 1565846990
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: New Pr

Summary

A demystifying guide to the complex debates surrounding the constitutional right to bear arms. With help from the National Rifle Association and the pro-gun lobby, the idea that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees an unrestricted right to gun ownership has achieved a firm footing in recent decades. Yet few issues of public policy are so misunderstood, so oversimplifiedand so crucially important to the health and welfare of all Americans. The gun lobby and its proponents would have us believe that the constitutional issue is moot, and that the regulation of firearms is beyond the reach of legislation. But as the contributors to this important anthology demonstrate, both the historical and constitutional arguments are very much aliveand in fact weigh heavily in favor of those who would restrict gun ownership. In the eight essays in The Second Amendment in Law and History, the nation's leading historical and constitutional scholarsincluding Jack Rakove (author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Original Meanings), Michael Bellesiles (author of Arming America), Michael Dorf, Daniel Farber, and Paul Finkelmanmarshal a broad range of historical and legal arguments revealing current gun policy to be radically out of step with deep historical and constitutional trends.

Author Biography

Carl T. Bogus is a professor of law at the Roger Williams College of Law in Rhode Island. He is the author of numerous law review articles on the Second Amendment and guns

Table of Contents

The History and Politics of Second Amendment Scholarship: A Primer	1	(15)
Carl T. Bogus
Lost and Found: Researching the Second Amendment	16	(32)
Robert J. Spitzer
The Second Amendment in Action	48	(26)
Michael A. Bellesiles
The Second Amendment: The Highest Stage of Originalism	74	(43)
Jack N. Rakove
``A Well Regulated Militia'': The Second Amendment in Historical Perspective	117	(31)
Paul Finkelman
Muting the Second Amendment: The Disappearance of the Constitutional Militia	148	(31)
H. Richard Uviller
William G. Merkel
Natural Rights and the Second Amendment	179	(28)
Steven J. Heyman
To Hold and Bear Arms: The English Perspective	207	(21)
Lois G. Schwoerer
Disarmed by Time: The Second Amendment and the Failure of Originalism	228	(19)
Daniel A. Farber
What Does the Second Amendment Mean Today?	247	(36)
Michael C. Dorf
Notes	283	(66)
Index	349