What the Second Amendment really means

What the Second Amendment really means
The Constitution secures an individual’s right to bear arms, Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said Thursday at The Heritage Foundation. They urged the Supreme Court to keep this in mind as they consider an important Second Amendment case.

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The high court will hear arguments next month about whether the District of Columbia’s effective ban on firearms violates the Constitution. The case, District of Columbia v. Heller, could result in the most important Second Amendment decision since 1939.

The issue at stake, Tester said, is “about rights granted in the Constitution.”

Hutchison echoed the sentiment and dismissed critics who argue that the right to bear arms is collective, not individual. “The simple fact that [the right to bear arms] is located in the Bill of Rights and not Section 8 of the Constitution shows the Framers’ intent.”

Both senators cited the growing threat to this fundamental right. Tester, for example, said he was appalled by the New Orleans gun confiscations which followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Heritage has been an effective advocate for a common-sense understanding of the Second Amendment. When District of Columbia v. Heller came before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Heritage legal scholars helped the winning side prepare its arguments.

-Chris Albright