The Individual Rights Theory vs The Collective Rights Theory: Interpreting the Second Amendment

By: Robertson, Harley

Rather than starting from the idea of "how can we protect our Second Amendment rights,"
this book starts from the idea of "What was the Second Amendment introduced for?"
The two primary interpretations for the past eighty-four years which answer this
question are titled "The Individual Rights Theory" - that the Second Amendment is about
personal gun ownership detached from any militia, and "The Collective Rights Theory" -
that the Second Amendment is about limiting Federal government power over the well
regulated State Militia.

In short, the Individual Rights Theory says the Second Amendment makes gun regulations,
even those outside the scope of a militia, unconstitutional, while the Collective
Rights Theory says that the Second Amendment is about restricting Federal power over
well regulated State Militias.

So does well regulated in the Second Amendment mean to keep your gun in good condition,
or does it mean that militias shall be trained by the States according to the
discipline prescribed by Congress, armed, and assembled at least once or twice a year?

These are the two perspectives explored in the writings of the Framers, the Virginia
Debates on the Adoption of the Constitution, Supreme Court cases, and more historic and
legal writings are reviewed to determine which of these two interpretations were
supported when.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0C642FV4G
• ISBN13: 9798395918505
• Release Date: May 2023
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 134 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"