From VICII:
The Right of Americans to bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Vermont. That right arose from in the historical context of 1776 when the people in the British colony of America sought their independence against one of the world's mightiest empires: England. Stretching across the world the English monarchy had expanded its grasp to form an empire “upon which the sun never set.”
The North Americans rose in rebellion and revolution to rid themselves of their colonial status to become the American Republic. That revolution was an armed struggle by Americans who bore arms in militias and as individuals against the armed forces of the English. The Right to Bear Arms has been passionately debated since the adoption of the Bill of Rights.
Now, as shootings escalate in our city and across our nation, the supporters of the Second Amendment argue passionately that the Amendment must be upheld to guarantee the right of self-defense and the right to resist the tyranny of the State. Those who seek the regulation and change of the Second Amendment equally passionately argue that gun violence is destroying our society and that gun control must take precedence over the Right to Bear Arms.
Jared Carter is an Adjunct Professor in the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic. He is an articles editor on the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, he received an Equal Justice Foundation Fellowship to litigate a First Amendment challenge to U.S. Treasury Department Regulations prohibiting travel to Cuba. Jared also directed the Vermont Community Law Center and the Vermont Law School Appellate Project, litigating constitutional rights issues in state and federal court.
For more information: vicii.org
