THE SECOND AMENDMENT AIN'T ABOUT HUNTING

THE SECOND AMENDMENT AIN'T ABOUT HUNTING
Thomas M. Moncure, Jr.*
(* Member, Virginia State Bar, Assistant General Counsel, National Rifle Association of America)

As Howard University School of Law’s Thomas M. Moncure, Jr. explains, the right to bear arms was derived from English common law and was clearly focused around having an armed citizen militia to protect against abuses by the state.

The founders put the second amendment in the bill of rights not to ensure Americans could enjoy hunting or target practice, but as a protection against government tyranny.

As James Madison wrote in the Federalist Papers, the right to bear arms was seen as a means of protecting liberties against government intrusion. Madison noted that in “several kingdoms of Europe … governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”

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