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Abstract
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Halbrook, S. P. (2021). The right to bear arms: A constitutional right of the people or a privilege of the ruling class? New York: Bombardier Books. 368 pp. $28.00. ISBN 9781637582848
One of many works written about gun control and rights, this book purports itself as the first scholarly study on the historical right to bear and carry arms outside one's home from America's founding, and includes English origins for context. It seeks to reveal what the Constitution meant related to the right to bear arms outside the home for self-defense and other lawful purposes.The goal is not to argue whether this is good or bad policy. The book does a fantastic job of demonstrating an individual has the right to carry a firearm in public, not just in militia context, and if they are not terrorizing another, according to the Second Amendment's text, history, and tradition.
This Second Amendment and Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791. The Fourteenth Amendment helps protect this right from state violation. The Civil Rights Act of 1871 provided a remedy to protect that right. Reasoning for this right includes the need for protection against persons and wildlife who could do harm to lives, liberties, and property, and to protect against tyranny from governmental entities. In British history, Catholics and Protestants were restricted from carrying arms at times, so James Madison, as the chief author of the Bill of Rights, safeguarded there would be no religious restrictions on an American's right to arms. Colonial Americans were often required to carry firearms rather than being prohibited from them. An armed populace was considered the ultimate check on oppression. Selective bans throughout time were oppressive tactics. In the early Republic, people could carry openly or concealed without a permit, although slaves had restrictions, and free persons of color had to obtain a license. Later, every citizen could carry a firearm in public, but in some states open carry was a requirement. In 1911, the Sullivan Law was passed in New York. It targeted Italian Americans and required permits for anyone who kept a firearm. Some towns in the Wild West banned carrying arms, which later was ruled unconstitutional. In the Jim Crow era, discretionary and unaffordable licenses kept African Americans from owning weapons. District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) ruled to "bear" means to "carry", thus, the right to armed self-defense has been upheld. Today, thirty states allow open carry without a permit, fifteen require a permit, and five prohibit open carry. Eight states "may issue" and forty-one states and the District of Columbia "shall issue" concealed carry permits to law-abiding citizens. It would be unconstitutional to ban both open and concealed carry.
Language: en |