How is the Second Amendment written?

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads: “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.” Such language has created considerable debate regarding the Amendment’s intended scope.

Is there a comma in the Second Amendment?

“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.” That comma, in the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights, ratified Dec. 15, 1791, is a pivot point on which ideological wars have been waged — and lives hang in the balance.

Should Second Amendment be capitalized in a sentence?

‘Second Amendment’ should be capitalized. Any word that is the name of a specific act, law, amendment, or bill is capitalized according to both the C…

Is the Second Amendment a compound sentence?

In the case of District of Columbia v. Heller, an opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia declared that the Constitution confers a right to own a gun for self-defense in the home. That’s right: the Supreme Court found there to be an individual right to gun ownership just a few years ago. How did this happen?

What is the wording of the Second Amendment?

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.

Is the right to bear arms capitalized?

It reads, in its entirety: “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.” The nouns “Militia,” “State” and “Arms” are capitalized, but “people” is lowercase.

Why are there two clauses in the Second Amendment?

The Second Amendment is naturally divided into two parts: its prefatory clause (A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State) and its operative clause (the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed).

Is Amendment a proper noun?

“When discussing a specific amendment, does it gain proper noun status? Both the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook say to capitalize names such as “First Amendment” and “Fourteenth Amendment.” The names of all acts, bills, laws, and amendments are capitalized: My dad just signed up for Social Security.

Should the right to bear arms be capitalized?

“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.” Both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are full of this kind of writing. The nouns “Militia,” “State” and “Arms” are capitalized, but “people” is lowercase.

What is a good sentence for amendment?

Amendments sentence example. Five amendments were ratified in 1889 and four in 1902. Fifteen amendments have thus been added to the constitution of 1842. Amendments , however, may be and have been carried against the government.

What is a prefatory clause?

Prefatory clause: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State.” The prefatory clause is the lead-in that “announces a purpose” for the operative clause. The operative clause’s text and history demonstrate that it connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms”(Heller law syllabus p.

What does the Second Amendment mean to you?

Take a look at the Second Amendment: “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.”. That little, red comma caused the Supreme Court to strike down D.C.’s ban on handguns, the country’s strictest gun control law to date.

Why is it important to read Amendment 2’s actual text?

When reading Amendment 2’s actual text it is important to read the text first to understand what it actually states. The 2nd Amendment states 3. 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.

Do extra commas in the Second Amendment mean anything?

Some historians even claim that many states ratified a version of the Second Amendment with only two commas, not three. The extra commas don’t mean much in that context, the argument goes. Anti-gun academics have also argued the framers really meant “A well regulated militia shall not be infringed,” the Times said.

What is the grammatical offence of the amendment?

As such, the primary grammatical offence in the text of the Amendment is that the third comma separates the subject and verb of the independent clause, which is a major no-no by modern rules. The odd capitalisation also doesn’t conform to modern rules, but that doesn’t change the meaning of the Amendment.