There is a multitude of recent tragedies involving firearms that has focused national attention, once more, on the controversial issue of gun control and the Second Amendment, a debate that always stirs up passionate emotions and intense opinions. Opponents of gun control reject any law that bans or restricts guns in any form as unconstitutional, they ignore all legal history and modern implications surrounding the Second Amendment. The most misunderstood provision contained in the Bill of Rights is this Amendment which states as follows: "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" (Polsby197). Two interpretations of the Founding Fathers" words exist. First, the belief held by the National Rifle Association and other members of America's gun lobbyist, that the Second Amendment guarantees every American citizen the right to own any number or kind of firearm. Secondly the conviction of gun control activists, that the Second Amendment was meant to guarantee a collective rather than an individual right to bear arms. The latter of the interpretations seems to make the most sense when looked at in the historical context in which it was written. "The purpose of the Second Amendment was to guarantee the States" ability to maintain independent militia composed of state residents available to be called upon to defend the country should it's security have been threatened" (Polsby 195). The Founding Fathers reliance on state militias to perform this military task was rooted in their deep distrust of the standing federal army (Summers 265). Considering that the United States is now the most powerful nation in the world, the notion that its federal army needs civilian reinforcement is most definitely exaggerated. Yet another historical flaw lies in the definition of the word "arms." In 1787, when the American Constitution was signed, this term referred to bayonets, muskets and spears, not to today's high powered machine guns, handguns and "Saturday Night Specials" designed solely for crime and built to kill.
