[Remedy]

1. ED : Administration Cites Recent Surveys Showing Lack Of Basic Knowledge Of U.S. History
2. ED : Senate Panel Hears that Ignorance of U.S. History Poses Major Security Threat
3. CULTURE : SYMPOSIUM Q: Is Multiculturalism a Threat to the National Security of the United States?

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LESSON PLAN

Bill of Rights in the News Activity: "To Keep and Bear Arms..."

Issue
Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit left standing an earlier ruling that upheld the constitutionality of California’s Assault Weapons Control Act and refused to recognize an individual—rather than a collective—constitutional right to bear arms. There are now two circuits in conflict over the interpretation of the Second Amendment (the Ninth and the Fifth). What will the Supreme Court have to say? To what extent can the government regulate guns? Who has the right to keep and bear arms?

Recommended Articles

• Egelko, Bob. "Stage set for high court gunfight S.F. panel lets ruling upholding assault weapons ban stand." San Francisco Chronicle. 8 May 2003. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/05/07/MN37961.DTL
• Kravets, David. Associated Press. "9th circuit rules individuals have no right to bear arms." San Francisco Chronicle. 6 May 2003. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/05/06/state1755EDT7903.DTL
• Weinstein, Henry. "Courts Reaffirms Ruling that Gun Ownership is Not a Right." (Free reg. req’d.) Los Angeles Times. 7 May 2003. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-arms7may07,1,3566476.story

Note: Some article links expire one week after publication.

Related Resources

• Silveira v. Lockyer (No. 01-15098). United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 5 Dec. 2002. Available online in PDF at http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/661116A4ECB1A7BE88256C8600544DCB/$file/0115098.pdf?openelement
• U.S. v. Emerson (270 F.3d 203). United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 16 Oct. 2001. Available online in PDF at http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/OpinHome.cfm

Discussion Questions

1. Which constitutional amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms?
   The Second Amendment, which 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."
2. Reread the language of the Amendment.

   1. Whose right is protected?
      Students may determine any or all of the following:

• "The people" – It is an individual’s right to keep and bear arms. ("people" as interpreted in: the Preamble, ‘the People of the United States’; the First Amendment, ‘the right of the people to peaceably assemble;’ and the Fourth Amendment ‘the right of the people to be secure in their persons…’)
• "The people" – It is the right of the people as a group (or the state) to keep and bear arms.
• "A well regulated Militia" – It is the right of the people to keep and bear arms for the purposes of maintaining a militia.

1. Are there any limits on the right?
   Answers will vary. Some students may argue that the "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms" is stated as a fundamental right that should not be infringed by the government. Others may argue that the language "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State" limits the right, whether individual or collective, to the purpose of self-defense.

1. With which of the statements are you most likely to agree and why?

   1. "But the simple truth – born of experience – is that tyranny thrives best where government need not fear the wrath of an armed people." –Judge Alex Kozinski, 9th Circuit, dissenting, May 2003.
   2. "I believe it is clear that the Constitution protects the private ownership of firearms for lawful purposes." –Attorney General John Ashcroft, May 2001.
   3. "The right to keep and bear arms is in no way absolute; it is subject to reasonable restrictions…" –Judge Harry Pregerson, 9th Circuit, dissenting, May 2003.
   4. "[T]he Second Amendment right to ‘bear arms' guarantees the right of the people to maintain effective state militias, but does not provide any type of individual right to own or possess weapons."." –Judge Stephen Reinhardt, 9th Circuit, majority opinion, December 2002.

   
   Answers will vary.

2. You are a member of the Supreme Court. The ruling in the Ninth Circuit is appealed.

   1. Do you vote to grant cert (hear the arguments) in the case next term? Explain.
      Answers will vary, but students should recognize that (1) the case involves a constitutional issue and (2) the ruling conflicts with that of another Circuit. The Court may want to rule on the narrow facts of the case or provide guidance to the lower courts about how to interpret the language of the Second Amendment.
   2. As a Justice, what is your interpretation of the Second Amendment? How are you likely to vote in the case? Explain.
      Answers will vary.

Extensions

Three Schools of Thought. Currently, there are three interpretations of the Second Amendment: Traditional Individual Right (individual has right for any valid purpose; limited government regulation), Limited Individual Right (individual has right, but only reasonable, military-related purposes), and Collective Right (protects right of the people to have state militia, no individual right). Have students investigate the three theories and analyze the pros and cons of each. Have students write a position paper answering the question, which do you think is most compelling and why?

Not Since 1939. The Supreme Court has not ruled in a Second Amendment case since U.S. v. Miller in 1939. Generally, constitutional scholars agree that the case gives limited guidance in interpreting the Second Amendment. Have students research the case and write a short case summary that includes the facts, issue, holding, and reasoning behind the decision of the Court. Do they think the Court would rule the same way today? Why or why not? Students can locate the opinion online at: http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/.

To Ban or Not to Ban. Democrats in the Senate plan to introduce legislation this week that will extend a 1994 ban on semiautomatic assault weapons. The Administration supports the move, despite arguments from gun rights advocates that such legislation does little to deter violent crime. Reflecting on the various interpretations of the Second Amendment, students might read and discuss Eric Lichtblau’s "Irking the N.R.A., Bush Supports Ban on Assault Weapons." New York Times. 8 May 2003. Available online at: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/08/politics/08GUNS.html or James G. Lakely’s "Bush, NRA at odds on weapons ban." Washington Times, 9 May 2003. Available online at: http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20030509-92627140.htm.

[SamiGirl]

Amen.

It's long overdue.

[Remedy]

Only half would vote for Constitution

• A Republic, If You Can Keep It At the close of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on September 18, 1787, a Mrs. Powel anxiously awaited the results, and as Benjamin Franklin emerged from the long task now finished, asked him directly: "Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" "A republic if you can keep it" responded Franklin.

[maestro]

along with subjects of equal value,....

........Evolution,....Relativism,.....Humanism,.....and.....No-Truth-Ethics

/sarcasm

[homeschool mama]

ping

[Drew68]

quoting James Madison, "the father of the Constitution,"

It has become more important for high school kids to know more about Toni Morrison than James Madison.

[Commander8]

I can see this being used in Christian Schools and by homeschoolers, but I won't hold my breath on it seeing the light of day in government schools where Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, Harvey Milk, Gloria Steinem, Saccho and Vanzetti and Margaret Sanger are considered more important than George Washington, Paul Revere, Thomas Jefferson, Nathan Hale, Benjamin Franklin, John and Paul Adams and James Madison.

[Alas Babylon!]

Thank you!

For the VetsCor Board of Directors, this is one of those things on our long term goals agenda.

[cpforlife.org]

BUMP