Amendment 2 of 27 · Bill of Rights · 1791
Second Amendment
Right to keep and bear arms
The one-line version
The Supreme Court says you have an individual right to keep and carry guns, but governments can still pass some gun laws.
The Second Amendment in plain English
A well-regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free state. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
Original text, 1791
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Phrase by phrase
A well regulated Militia
- A trained and organized force of ordinary citizens who can be called to defend their community.
being necessary to the security of a free State
- This force is needed to keep a free country or state safe.
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms
- The right of the people to have weapons and to carry them.
shall not be infringed
- The government cannot take this right away or cut it back.
Picture it
Example. Not legal advice.
You are 19 and moving to another state for school. You want to bring a hunting rifle. Gun laws in your old state and your new state may be very different. The Second Amendment sets a minimum, and each state adds its own rules.
What this means for you
An individual right
In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep guns. That right is not tied to serving in a militia. Before 2008, many lower courts read it as tied to militia service.
In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), the Court held that the right also covers carrying a handgun in public for self-defense.
The right has limits
The Court has said the right is not unlimited. In Heller, it said its ruling did not cast doubt on long-standing laws. Its examples included bans on gun possession by people with felony convictions and bans in sensitive places like schools. It also listed rules on selling guns.
In United States v. Rahimi (2024), the Court upheld a federal law that disarms people under certain domestic-violence restraining orders. It said the government can temporarily disarm someone a court has found to be a credible threat to another person's safety.
How courts decide now
Since Bruen, courts ask whether a gun law fits the nation's historical tradition of gun regulation. The government must point to similar laws from the past. In Rahimi, the Court said a modern law does not need an exact historical match.
Courts decide new cases every year about which weapons, which people, and which places this covers.
State laws differ
The Constitution sets a minimum level of protection for the right. States and cities add their own gun laws, which must stay within that minimum. Arizona, New York, and Texas, for example, have very different rules.
To know what is legal where you live, check your state and city laws, or ask a lawyer.
Myth check
MythThe Second Amendment means every gun law is unconstitutional.
FactThe Supreme Court has said the right has limits. In United States v. Rahimi (2024), it upheld a law that disarms people under certain domestic-violence restraining orders.
MythUnder current law, the Second Amendment protects only people serving in a militia.
FactIn District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Court held it protects an individual right, not tied to militia service. Some scholars still argue for the militia reading.
MythGun laws are the same everywhere in the U.S.
FactStates and cities add their own gun laws. The rules can be very different from one state to the next.
Common questions
What does the Second Amendment say in simple terms?
It means people have a right to keep and carry guns. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court held this is an individual right for self-defense, not tied to militia service. Some scholars still argue for a militia-based reading.
Does the Second Amendment allow any gun restrictions?
Yes. The Supreme Court has said the right has limits. Under New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), a gun law must fit the nation's historical tradition of gun regulation. In United States v. Rahimi (2024), the Court upheld disarming people under certain domestic-violence restraining orders.
Can I carry a gun in public?
Often, but state rules differ. In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), the Supreme Court held that law-abiding adults have a right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense. States may still require permits, bar some people from having guns, and ban guns in some places.
Does the Second Amendment apply to states?
Yes. In McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), the Supreme Court held the Second Amendment limits state and local governments, not only the federal government. States can still pass gun laws within the limits the Court has set.
Why is the Second Amendment so debated?
People disagree about how far the right reaches. Some read it as a broad individual right that blocks most gun laws. Others read it as tied to militias or as allowing strong regulation. Since District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Court has recognized an individual right, but its limits are still argued.
Go deeper
The scene · 1791
Many Americans distrusted a permanent national army. Some feared the new federal government could weaken or disarm the state militias, which were made up of ordinary citizens. The English Bill of Rights of 1689 had already protected a right to have arms, with limits. The Second Amendment answered these worries in one sentence.
Back then
The writers had just fought a war against a professional British army. Many of them saw citizen militias as a guard against a too-powerful central government. Today, people still disagree about how the militia clause and the right clause fit together.
Words that changed
- “Militia”
ThenOrdinary citizens, mostly adult men, who could be called up to defend their state.
NowFederal law still defines a militia. It includes the National Guard and most able-bodied men ages 17 to 45.
- “well regulated”
ThenWell trained and disciplined.
Now"Regulated" today usually means controlled by rules. In 1791 it meant in good working order.
- “bear Arms”
ThenScholars disagree. Some say it mainly meant serving in the military. Others say it also meant carrying weapons for any purpose.
NowIn Heller (2008), the Court held it means carrying weapons, including for self-defense.
Who argued what
Individual-right reading
"The right of the people" means an individual right, as it does in the First and Fourth Amendments. The militia clause explains one reason for the right but does not limit it. People also need arms for self-defense and hunting. This is the reading the Supreme Court adopted in Heller (2008).
Militia (collective-right) reading
The amendment begins with the militia because that was its purpose. "Bear arms" was usually a military phrase in 1791. The right protects arms tied to militia service, and governments keep wide power to regulate guns otherwise. Four justices took a version of this view in their Heller dissents.
Supporters of the history-and-tradition test
Since Bruen (2022), courts ask whether a gun law fits the nation's historical tradition of gun regulation. Supporters say this ties the right to the Constitution's original meaning. They say it stops judges from weighing a right away based on their own policy views.
Critics of the history-and-tradition test
Critics say judges are not trained historians and records from the 1700s and 1800s are incomplete. They say the test has led to conflicting rulings. They argue courts should also weigh public safety benefits, as many courts did before 2022.
Key cases
- 1939
United States v. Miller
The Court upheld a federal law on short-barreled shotguns, saying no evidence showed such a weapon was connected to a militia.
- 2008
District of Columbia v. Heller
The Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep a handgun at home for self-defense, not tied to militia service.
- 2010
McDonald v. City of Chicago
The Second Amendment limits state and local governments, not just the federal government.
- 2022
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen
The right includes carrying a handgun in public for self-defense, and gun laws must fit the nation's historical tradition of gun regulation.
- 2024
United States v. Rahimi
The government can temporarily disarm a person whom a court has found to be a credible threat to another person's physical safety.
More history and context
The Second Amendment was ratified in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights. It is one sentence with two parts. The first part mentions the militia. The second part states the right. People have argued for a long time about how the two parts fit together. Some read the first part as explaining one purpose of the right. Others read it as limiting the right to militia service.
For most of the 1900s, federal courts mostly read the right as tied to the militia. Heller (2008) held that it is an individual right. McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) applied it to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment. Bruen (2022) set the history-and-tradition test that courts use now.
Scholars still debate the text, even though the Court has decided the main question. Courts keep deciding what counts as "Arms," who counts as "the people," and which laws count as "infringement." In 2026, the Supreme Court agreed to hear whether bans on AR-15-style rifles are allowed.
Actively contested
Courts are still deciding parts of this. Open questions include:
- Bans on AR-15-style rifles and similar semi-automatic rifles
- Limits on large-capacity magazines
- Gun limits for adults ages 18 to 20
- Gun bans for people with nonviolent criminal convictions
- Which places count as "sensitive places" where guns can be banned
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