LEGAL
THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS REPORT OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY UNITED STATES SENATE NINETY-SEVENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION FEBRUARY 1982
This subcommittee undertook the daunting task of trying to determine the intent of the Constitution and apply it to today. One of the items they examined was the Second Amendment. Among the more relevant points made in the report are that the right to arms is and individual right and that the National Guard is not the militia mentioned in the Second Amendment.
LEGISLATIVE
CONSTITUTION
Considered by many to be to radical to succeed, the Constitution was written to address some of the many problems discovered with the Articles of Confederation. It created a stronger central government that was the first republic to really exist since the Roman Empire. It created a unique hybrid of republic, parliament, and triumvirate with democratic overtones.
BILL OF RIGHTS
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution were a sticking point in getting the Constitution ratified. 12 amendments were originally proposed, but 2 were disposed of. Some felt that the enumerating of rights would be a bad thing, but most agreed that enforceable restrictions on the federal government were absolutely necessary if it were going to be as strong as the Constitution made it. The Bill of Rights has been seen to only be a restriction on the powers of the federal government.
MILITIA ACTS
Actually three separate acts, two in May 1792 and one in Feb 1795, these acts fulfilled Congress' duties under Art 1 Sect 8, clauses 15 &16 (the Militia clauses), by providing for organizing, calling up, disciplining, and calling up the Militia. The most famous of the three was the second one, passed on 8 May 1792, which organized and provided for arming the Militia. This act is of relevance to the Second Amendment discussion because it lists various types of arms the individuals were to provide for themselves, something they could not do if the right to arms was not protected.
FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT
Passed in 1868, the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment is of great importance as it provides for extending the prohibitions contained in the Bill of Rights against the federal government to the state government.
DICK ACT 1903
The Dick Act superseded the Militia Act(s) and paved the way for the National Guard of today.
NATIONAL FIREARMS ACT 1934
This act was in response to mobster related activities. Among the more notable provisions was the restrictions placed on fully automatic weapons.
GUN CONTROL ACT 1968
This act was passed in response to several assassinations, including the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King Jr. This act made it illegal for felons to possess weapons.
CRIME BILL 1986
One of the most notable features of this act was that it banned private ownership of fully automatic firearms produced after 1986. Any such arms produced before 1986 were still allowable for ownership.
FIREARMS OWNERS PROTECTION ACT 1986
In a move to appease firearm owners, guarantees were made to protect "legitimate" uses of firearms. Some have said this act gutted the NFA of 1934.
THE BRADY BILL
Taking its name from Sarah Brady, wife of President Reagan's press secretary who was shot in the head during Hinkley's assassination attempt on the President, this act has served as a rallying cry for many firearm owners. The provisions of this act established a mandatory waiting period before purchasing a handgun. It also required a background check be done on the purchaser. If a background check system was already in effect, this bill did not apply. At the time of passage, some 18 states were not affected by the act. The bill advocated the development of a national instant background check system and expired after five years. Brady's requirement for local police to perform national checks was declared unconstitutional in Printz v. US and Mack v. US. It is also notable that none of the provisions in Brady would have prevented the attack on the President or the wounding of Mr. Brady. It is also ironic that a previous attempt by Sarah Brady to introduce a waiting period touted as a "cooling off period" had failed on its lack of merit. In order to get the waiting period; it had to be combined with the background check on the pretense of giving enough time for the check to be completed. However, when the bill was under attack, Sarah Brady was repeatedly heard talking about the waiting period, saying things like "at least we still have the waiting period" and such, indicating that it was her waiting period idea which she was most concerned about. Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association has advocated an instant background check.
CRIME ACT 1994
Passed despite outcries by firearm owners, this act banned several types of weapons from import because of a determination they had no sporting purpose. It restricted pistol magazine sizes to 10 rounds and severely restricted various types of rifles. Rifles with detachable magazines and any two features such as collapsing stocks, muzzle breaks, threaded barrels, bayonet lugs, or pistol grips were prohibited.
LAUTENBERG ACT
In an attempt to address problems of potential domestic violence involving firearms, this act made it illegal for anyone convicted of domestic violence to own a firearm. While this sounds good, there are several problems with the act. First, there is no federal definition of what domestic violence is. In some states, it is virtually impossible for a female to be convicted of domestic violence. In some states domestic violence could be something as small as yelling at a child or giving a corrective slap, in others it would take substantially more to qualify. In some states, physical bruises and scars must be present. Domestic violence also ranges from a misdemeanor in many cases to a felon in others. This leads to a problem in that now, conviction of a misdemeanor could cause forfeiture of rights, whereas only felonies did before. And finally, an ex post facto clause made this act retroactive for anyone convicted of domestic violence prior to the passage of the act. This is quite possibly unconstitutional, but has not yet been challenged in court.
Main / Grammatical / Historical / Court cases / Analysis