2nd amendment – SemperVerus

The Importance of the Second Amendment Foundation

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) safeguards and promotes the fundamental civil rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure that the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, USA State Constitutions Providing for Armed Self-Defense ]

“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.” Amendment II, The US Constitution

The following 22-minute video, Reflections: Five Decades of SAF’s 2A Advocacy, celebrates SAF’s 50 years of defending the Second Amendment and fighting legal battles in the courts for gun owners’ civil rights.

By semperverus
Posted on 11/17/202411/17/2024

Federal Judge Rules Illinois ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban Unconstitutional

Illinois’ ban on AR-15 modern sporting rifles and other misidentified “assault weapons” violates the Second Amendment.

US District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn declared Nov. 8, 2024 that Illinois’ law, known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA), making it a crime to acquire and possess many common modern semi-automatic firearms violates the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, saying, “As the prohibition of firearms is unconstitutional, so is the registration scheme for assault weapons, attachments, and large-capacity magazines.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Senior US District Judge Rules California’s Ban on AR-15s to Be Unconstitutional ]

Here are excerpts from his comprehensive and understandable 168-page ruling:

“Why are there small lifeboats on gigantic steel ocean liners? Why do we spend thousands equipping our vehicles with airbags?…And why do we protect ourselves with firearms? In life, we face many perils. Some are natural weather phenomena….Some perils are associated with important products like…automobiles…Too often, the perils we face are forced upon us by other people. By people who are negligent, reckless, insane, impaired, or evil. Sometimes it is the proverbial lone wolf; sometimes, it is the whole wolf pack. And who comes to our aid in times of peril?…Sometimes, it is no one.”

“The AR-15 is the Rorschach test of America’s gun debate. In listening to the political debate and in reading various judicial interpretations of what the AR-15 represents, it is obvious that many are seeing very different creatures. Many see one, but not the other. Our task here is to understand the duality of much of the data and the reasons for varying interpretations. Are they seeing a dragon to be slayed or a horse to pull a carriage? Often, the different perspectives are defined by whom they picture using the weapon—either a menacing criminal or a law-abiding citizen involved in a dangerous confrontation.”

“So much about firearms is contentious, from the political debate to the jurisprudential debate. At the crossroads of this debate stands the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

Louisiana and South Carolina Are Now the 28th and 29th USA States To Allow Permitless Carrying of Concealed Firearms

Two more states have now been added to the majority of states in the USA which allow the concealed carry of firearms without the need for a permit or license from the government.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed Bill 1 into law March 5, 2024 (effective July 4, 2024) and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed Bill H. 3594 into law March 7, 2024 (effective immediately), bringing the total number of constitutional carry states to 29 allowing anyone 18 and older who is eligible to own a handgun to carry it concealed in public without a permit.

By semperverus
Posted on 03/13/202403/13/2024

Senior US District Judge Rules California’s Ban on AR-15s to Be Unconstitutional

California’s ban on AR-15s and other so-called “assault weapons” violates the Second Amendment.

Senior United States District Court Judge Roger Benitez declared Oct. 19, 2023 that California’s law making it a crime to acquire and possess many common modern semi-automatic firearms violates the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, saying the state’s “’assault weapon’ prohibition has no historical pedigree and it is extreme.”

Here are excerpts from his astute and comprehensible 79-page ruling:

“The State says criminals already have and favor using guns described as ‘assault weapons.’ Rather than being outgunned, many citizens want these same firearms as a defense against criminal attacks. Americans today own 24.4 million modern rifles (i.e., AR-15 platform and AK-47 platform rifles), according to the State’s expert. Of the AR-15 rifle owners surveyed, 61% said one reason they acquired their gun is for home defense. Consequently, while criminals already have these modern semiautomatics, the State prohibits its citizens from buying and possessing the same guns for self-defense. At the same time these firearms are commonly possessed by law-abiding gun owners elsewhere across the country.”

“Guns for self-defense are needed a lot because crime happens a lot. A recent large-scale survey estimates that guns are needed defensively approximately 1,670,000 times a year. Another report, originally commissioned and long cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that there are between 500,000 and 3,000,000 defensive gun uses in the United States each year. That is a lot of situations where Jane Doe needs a firearm to defend herself and her family. Trial testimony from hoodlums is not needed to prove that a homeowner brandishing an AR-15 can be a strong deterrent to criminal attackers. But when brandishing does not stop an attack, Jane needs an effective defense. That is where an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle can come to the rescue.”