“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.” Thus states the 2nd Amendment in the Bill of Rights. The Founding Fathers of our country gave such emphasis and importance to this right that is was the second one that they added to the Bill of Rights, ahead of the right to a Trial by Jury and behind only Freedom of Expression. In the political theater today, much of the debate on gun laws is the extent to which “arms” cover increasingly powerful weaponry. After much debate, the Assault Weapons Ban was passed during the Clinton Administration in 1994, making all automatic weapons, as well as many semi-automatic weapons, illegal to the public.

The problem with this law is that it makes a conclusion about what weapons should be illegal while ignoring an entire section of the Second Amendment. When quoted, the Second Amendment is typically described as “The right to bear arms”, but the most important part, when it comes to interpretation, is left out.

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…” is the often ignored section of the Amendment. But this is the whole purpose for the Amendment’s existence. The Founding Fathers wanted citizens to be able to own guns, not for hunting, shooting, or personal defense, but in order to maintain a militia, which was seen as a necessary aspect of national security. You wouldn’t want a line of citizens with single shot rifles and flintlock pistols as your country’s last line of defense, and I don’t blame you. To deny American citizens the ability to own automatic rifles, a necessity in a modern militia, is a clear violation of our Constitution. I urge all students to step up and become active in trying to repeal this law.