Original Intent of the Second Amendment: What the Debates at the Constitutional Convention and the First Congress Say About the Right to Bear Arms

This paper examined the original intent of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution using the debates in the press, at the ratification conventions and the Constitutional Convention, and the First Congress. The founding fathers do not mention an individual right to bear arms in their debates at the ratification conventions, the Constitutional Convention, and the First Congress. The original intent of the Second Amendment guarantees a collective right to bear arms.Department of Histor