Introduction
The Second Amendment is one of the things that has made the United States and its society unique and prosperous. It is why it is essential to know the philosophical background and the meaning of it. The goal of this work is to share personal thoughts after examining the history of one of the most important rights of citizens of the United States.
Knowledge Gained about the Second Amendment
By reading about the Second Amendment, I gained knowledge that I did not have before. I used to think there was only one meaning to the Second Amendment. However, Wilson (2007) provides readers with two major interpretations of this significant amendment to the United States law. The first exegesis of the Second Amendment is that it grants and protects the individual right of people to have guns (Wilson 2007). The second interpretation is that it is a collective right by which people can organize militias to defend against the federal government’s tyranny or foreign enemy (Wilson 2007). However, I prefer the interpretation that was proposed by Robert E. Shalhope the most. He argued that “the collective right to bear arms does not preclude the individual rights to own firearms, but rather it is a derivative of the individual right” (Wilson 2007, 21). It is also noteworthy that thanks to Wilson’s work, I have developed a personal interpretation of the background of the Second Amendment.
Personal Interpretation of the History of the Second Amendment
Before I read about the history of the Second Amendment, I thought that the Second Amendment is a unique case of the United States law that could only happen in the American philosophical and legal discourse. Now I understand that the discourse on the right to own weapons has a long history that began in Antiquity, namely in the Roman Empire. Cicero was one of the first to argue that it is moral for individuals to defend themselves with a weapon if their lives are in danger (Wilson 2007). Many philosophers of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Modern History argued about whether the nature of the right to own weapons should be individual or collective. It can be said, and I believe in it, that the Second Amendment is the logical conclusion of the centuries-old development of the classical European idea of the right of people to have weapons. The presence of the operative clause and the justification clause prove this idea (Wilson 2007). Learning and thinking about the Second Amendment changed my view on it.
A Change in Perspective on the Second Amendment
I used to think that the Second Amendment only covered the right to have firearms. Now I understand that it is the most crucial element of the United States domestic policy. It is what maintains the balance of power between the federal government, state governments, and society. The Second Amendment affects many groups in United States society, namely citizens, minorities, the police, the military, and the government (Wilson 2007). The ability to interpret correctly and open-mindedness makes the knowledge gained about the Second Amendment’s history useful in disputes over the right to own guns.
Knowing the History of the Second Amendment is Useful
The issue of the context of time is especially relevant to the Second Amendment. As it is noted in Wilson’s work, many aspects of United States society have changed significantly since the Second Amendment (Wilson 2007). Things like ethnic diversification, the invention of automatic weapons, the creation and implementation of digital technology, and general technological progress have happened. It is why, and because the number of crimes with firearms and mass shootings is growing every year, the intense debate around the Second Amendment has been going on for several ten years (Wilson 2007). It is obvious that some changes need to be made. Knowing the background of the Second Amendment and how to apply this knowledge is useful for both legislators and ordinary citizens. For legislators, it will enable them to protect people’s lives, and for ordinary citizens, it will let them protect themselves from the potential tyranny of the state.
Conclusion
This article provides readers with personal thoughts on the history of the right to own firearms, put differently, the Second Amendment. I learned there are two popular interpretations of it, namely that it can act both as an individual right as well as a collective one. Moreover, I now see the Second Amendment not as a unique case inherent only to the United States law but as a logical continuation of classical European philosophy. Another important mention is that I have changed my perception of the Second Amendment. It is not only about the right to have guns to protect oneself from the enemy, be it a criminal, state, or invader, but rather an institutional mechanism that affects all groups of society. I also acknowledge that some changes need to be made regarding the interpretation of the Second Amendment as times have changed.
References
Wilson, Harry L. 2007. Guns, Gun Control, and Elections: The Politics and Policy of Firearms. Lahman: Rowman & Littlefield.