Rights and the 2nd Amendment

In an old blog post I argued that the Second Amendment created three constitutional rights. “One is a right to participate in the military, in Latin jus militiae, from its origin in Roman law. The second is a right to possess weapons for the purpose of the participation in the militia, [now the National Guard] guaranteed by the first right. The third is a broader right to possess weapons unrelated to matters military.” The Second Amendment: Not One or Two but Three Rights  I was mistaken.

The Second Amendment: Not One or Two but Three Rights

I will here argue that the Second Amendment constitutionalizes three rights.  One is a right to participate in the military, in Latin jus militiae, from its origin in Roman law. The second is a right to possess weapons for the purpose of the participation guaranteed by the first right. The third is a broader right to possess weapons unrelated to matters military. I do not argue this interpretation because I think it conduces to good public policy. What it does is make good sense both of the operative language of the amendment and its militia clause.