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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 Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution will forever be at the center of America's raging debate over gun laws. As part of the Bill of Rights, it was adopted on December 15, 1791. The true meaning of the law has seemingly been argued over ever since.

District of Columbia vs Heller in 2008 provided a landmark ruling from the Supreme Court, and finally gave clarity to what people on both sides of the divide had been quarreling about for ages. Prior to the court's ruling, opposing interpretations of the Second Amendment argued that it only granted the right to keep and bear arms when a person was in a state militia. With District of Columbia vs Heller, though, the courts ruled definitively for an individual's right to own and possess a firearm, regardless of service in a militia. It was ruled that the weapon must only be used for traditionally lawful purposes, such as protecting one's home or well-being against intrusion. Perhaps most importantly, the court ruled that this right applies to all states, not just the federal government.

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