On April 20, 1999, in Littleton, Colorado, two students at Columbine High School carried out a murderous rampage that left fifteen dead and millions in shock Exactly one month later, a suicidal fifteen year old from Heritage High, in Conyers, Georgia opened fire into a crowd of fellow students, injuring six. Following this, Orthodox Jews were attacked in Chicago in July , and in October of 2002, a pair of ruthless snipers terrorized the DC area by randomly shooting and killing 10 people. These are just a few of the events that have transpired in history in which the right granted by the Bill of Rights to bear firearms has infringed on the rights of the people to live in a safe society. The most misunderstood provision contained in the Bill of Rights is this Amendment which states that: "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 National Rifle Association argues, that the Second Amendment guarantees every American citizen the right to own any number or kind of firearm. The interpretation that makes more sense when looked at in the historical context is that the purpose of the Second Amendment was to guarantee the States" ability to maintain independent militia composed of state residents that would be available to be called upon to defend the country if it's security is threatened. Firearms have been haunting us through accidents and needless acts of violence affecting those of adolescent ages all the way up to the elderly. In 1990, handguns were used to murder twenty-two people in Great Britain, sixty-eight in Canada, eighty-seven in Japan and 11, 719 in the United States. In Washington D.C, the number of murders that occur in one year is fifteen times greater than in Northern Ireland, a nation plagued by terrorism. This level of handgun violence does not exist in any other developed country.
