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[the Second Amendment] out of view prohibit the people from keeping and bearing arms, so as to deprive the United States of their rightful resource for maintaining the public security, and disable the people from performing their duty to the General Government. (Presser v. Illinois)

The Presser court expressed that the states are prohibited from disarming its citizens because it intervened with the federal government’s right to reserve a military and militia under Article I of the Constitution. It seems as if the Supreme Court is in favor of citizen’s right to bear arms (Kopel). The apex of Gun Control court cases took place in the year of 1939 involving two men Frank Layton and Jack Miller in U.S. v. Miller. Both men were charged with violating the National Firearms Act of 1934. This act regulated the transfer of various weapons and required those same weapons to be registered. The two men had transported a 12-gauge shotgun in interstate commerce, and they argued that the National Firearms Act (NFA) violates their Second Amendment Rights. So the question was raised, does the Second Amendment protect the individual’s rights to own and bear arms? The Miller Court argued that the shotgun he possessed was protected by the Second Amendment because it could contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of a well regulated militia. “The Second Amendment must be interpreted and applied with a view to its purpose of rendering effective the Militia” (Gun Cite). The Court ruled that it was not of ordinary military equipment. The Supreme Court had taken a “collective rights” view on the case and ruled against Miller. Thus, reversing the ruling of the district court, of an individual’s right to bear arms, because the sawed off shotgun does not have “reasonable relationship” to contribute to a militia and the Second Amendment does not protect that specific firearm. In essence, the Supreme Court ruled that it is not the individual’s right to bear arms (Gun Control).

The timeline of court cases throughout history guide the development of Gun control and the Constitutionality of the 2nd amendment. The second amendment has been established as a right that can’t be infringed upon by the federal government, but basically the states governments do have the right to regulate gun ownership and the right to bear arms. The power of states to regulate firearms opens a gateway not only to more federal issues involving firearms but now individual states issues. It seems the cycle will continue to compound and become more complex.

Early Gun Control Legislation

The Various Court Cases both involving the Supreme Court and other lower courts have now somewhat defined the Second Amendment and policies of firearm regulation among states. This allowed organizations to lobby government and pass gun control legislation during the 20th century. The Sullivan Act began the trend of firearms registration and licensing, only to be heightened by historical events. Making it a felony, in New York, to complete any transaction involving firearms without a permit. With direct correlation to the Valentine’s Day Massacre, the National Firearms Act was passed in 193本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。