Importance of the Second Amendment
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution stands to be one of the most important Amendments ever created. The Second Amendment protects the rights of the people of the United States to keep and bear arms without infringement (Second Amendment). This right was described by Sir William Blackstone as an auxiliary right, supporting the natural rights of self-defense, resistance to oppression, and the civic duty to act in concert in defense of the state (The Importance of the Second Amendment). The Second Amendment plays an essential role in the protection of the people, and keeps the government from posing a threat of total take over. The Second Amendment is the only provision in our Constitution and Bill of Rights that specifically prohibits infringement, meaning that no person nor government agency has the authority to violate this right (Madden).
The Second Amendment to the United states constitution 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.” Today, this amendment is known as the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed .As written in the constitution, this amendment is considered an individual right, and not one for the “militia” or government. The use of the word "militia" has created some confusion in modern times due to our ignorance in understanding language as it was written during the time the constitution. The Supreme Court states in context, "it was clearly an individual right" (MacBradaigh). The second amendment was adopted along with the rest of the bill of rights on December 15, 1791.
In the Federalist No. 46, James Madison explained that because American citizens were typically armed, the federal government would be unable to exert power beyond the powers enumerated in the Constitution (Gosar). Madison explained that in contrast to European nations where “the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms” the United States would rely on an armed citizenry to protect themselves, their families, and the nation from takeover by the government (Gosar). The citizens being armed will keep the government from imposing a dictatorship, because the people will be armed and able to resist. This in a way keeps the government honest, and keeps their power limited. In society, it's fortunate that we've grown comfortable with our government, we need to remain aware that the only reason we have been able to grow comfortable with it is because the Second Amendment has prevented the government from posing a threat to us for all these years (The Importance of the Second Amendment).
In the bill of rights, all the amendments can be considered important, but the Second Amendment is the most important of all. The Second Amendment is what protects the other Amendments, in the fact that they won’t be taken away. Once the right to bear arms is eliminated, it will become significantly easier to eliminate rights such as the freedom of speech or press (The Importance of the Second Amendment). If this Amendment is taken away, there would be no way to fight back or resist it.