The Positive Second Amendment: Rights, Regulation, and the Future of Heller (Cambridge Studies on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties)

Synopsis

The Second Amendment Is Among The Most Recognized Provisions Of The Constitution. It Is Also Perhaps The Most Misunderstood. Common Misconceptions About The Amendment -- What It Forbids, What It Permits, How It Functions As Law - Distort The Gun Debate And America's Constitutional Culture. In The Positive Second Amendment, Blocher And Miller Provide The First Comprehensive Post-heller Account Of The History, Theory, And Law Of The Right To Keep And Bear Arms. Their Aim Is Not To Pick Sides In The Gun Debate, But Rather To Show How A Positive Account Of The Constitutional Second Amendment Differs From Its Political Cousin. Understanding The Right To Keep And Bear Arms As Constitutional Law Will Challenge Many Deeply Held Beliefs. But It May Also Provide A Better Way To Negotiate The Seemingly Intractable Issues That Afflict Our Nation's Debate Over Gun Rights And Regulation-- Introduction: The Gun Debate And The Constitution -- Gun Rights And Regulation In American History -- Militias, Private Purposes, And The Road To Heller -- Understanding Heller -- Heller's Aftermath: A Vast Terra Incognita -- The Constitutional Grammar Of The Second Amendment -- What Is The Second Amendment For? -- Second Amendment Law And The Gun Debate. Joseph Blocher, Darrell A. H. Miller. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.