Constitution
Amendment 2: The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Text from National Archives. Explanation last updated September 29, 2026. How we check this
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In plain English
The Second Amendment says that a well regulated Militia is necessary to the security of a free State and that the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.
In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) the Supreme Court held that the amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm for lawful purposes such as self-defense in the home, and in McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) it held that the right applies to states and cities. The Court has also said the right is not unlimited.
The text
As printed by the source cited at the end of this page, with its original spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
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.
Explained section by section
The prefatory clause: a well regulated Militia
The first half of the sentence explains a purpose: a militia was seen as the alternative to a permanent standing army, which many founders distrusted. “Well regulated” in eighteenth-century usage meant properly disciplined and functioning, not heavily restricted.
The Court has said that a prefatory clause announces a purpose but does not limit the operative clause that follows it.
The operative clause: keep and bear Arms
“The right of the people to keep and bear Arms” is the guarantee itself. In Heller the majority read “keep” as to have and “bear” as to carry, and read “the people” as the same group protected elsewhere in the Bill of Rights, ordinary law-abiding citizens.
Justices disagreed sharply in that case about the historical meaning, which is why the scope of the right remains actively litigated.
“Shall not be infringed”
The verb is strong, but the Court has stated that the right is not a right to keep and carry any weapon in any manner. Heller identified categories of longstanding regulation, such as prohibitions on possession by felons and laws restricting carrying in sensitive places, as presumptively lawful, and later decisions have refined how courts test new laws against the historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Context and current status
The amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791 with the rest of the Bill of Rights. Ratification-era debate about the militia is part of the wider argument between Federalists and Anti-Federalists over how much military power the national government should hold: Article I, Section 8 gives Congress power to organize, arm and discipline the militia, and this amendment protects the people’s arms alongside that structure.
For most of American history the Supreme Court decided few Second Amendment cases. That changed with District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008, then McDonald v. City of Chicago in 2010, and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen in 2022. Current textual status: the text is unchanged and in force.
Terms to know
- Militia
- In the founding era, the body of ordinary citizens who could be called up for defense, as distinct from a permanent professional army.
- Keep and bear
- Phrases the Supreme Court read in Heller to mean possess and carry.
- Infringe
- To violate or encroach on a right.
Common misconceptions
“The Second Amendment only protects people who serve in a militia.”
That was the argument rejected by the majority in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), which held that the right belongs to individuals regardless of militia service. Dissenting justices read the text differently.
“The Supreme Court has said no gun regulation is allowed.”
The same decisions describe the right as limited and list categories of regulation, such as restrictions on possession by felons, as presumptively lawful. Courts are still deciding where the boundaries lie.
How it connects
Links to related provisions and documents, with the reason each one matters here.
- Article IArticle I of the United States ConstitutionArticle I, Section 8 gives Congress power to raise armies and to organize, arm and discipline the militia, the structure the amendment’s opening clause refers to.
- Amendment 14Citizenship, Due Process and Equal ProtectionMcDonald v. City of Chicago applied the Second Amendment to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Amendment 10Powers Reserved to the States and the PeopleFirearms rules are made at both federal and state level, and the Tenth Amendment frames the balance between them.
Study check
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Sources and corrections
- Text: National Archives. Checked against the source on September 29, 2026.National Archives transcription of the engrossed Constitution, with original spelling and capitalization. The signature block and the Convention's interlineation note are not reproduced.
- The Bill of Rights: A Transcription — National Archives
- The Interactive Constitution: Second Amendment — National Constitution Center
Educational material, not legal advice. Spotted a mistake? Tell us; corrections change this page’s update date.