The U.S. Constitution in Five Minutes - Joseph L. Smith
37. Does the Second Amendment Give Me the Right to Carry a Gun?
The U.S. Constitution in Five Minutes - Joseph L. Smith
William Merkel [+]
Charleston School of Law
William Merkel is an associate professor at the Charleston School of Law and holds advanced degrees in history as well as law. His work focuses on constitutional law and history and on international law.
Description
William Merkel elucidates competing interpretations and open questions concerning the much discussed Second Amendment. Prior to the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), many scholars and advocates maintained that the Constitution protected only an obsolescent right to arms dependent on service in the lawfully established militia, but Supreme Court caselaw now emphatically protects a private right to possess weapons suitable for self-defense. But is that right unlimited?