The 2nd Amendment
Idaho stands as a constitutional carry state, and I wholeheartedly support this Right. I adamantly oppose any efforts to encroach upon our sacred Right to own, possess, and carry the firearms of our choosing, without permits or restrictions, including Red Flag Laws. Every state has an obligation to grant constitutional carry to all law-abiding citizens, in line with the unyielding vision of our Founders.
The Second Amendment, a cornerstone of American freedoms, has its roots in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. This pivotal moment in history saw Protestant subjects overthrowing the Catholic King James II, who had attempted to disarm them while favoring Catholics with weapons. The subsequent English Bill of Rights, passed in 1689, boldly stated: “That the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defence [sic] suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law.” This historical context underscores the profound significance of the Second Amendment and the Founders’ unwavering commitment to individual rights.
This provision, part of a larger declaration of parliamentary authority and a rebuke of James’s tyrannies, established the first legal acknowledgment of an individual’s right to own firearms — pistols and muskets—for personal defense against government overreach. Legal scholar Sir William Blackstone expanded on this in his Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–1769), portraying the right to arms as a crucial supporting freedom vital for self-protection and opposing despotism.
The landmark Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the Second Amendment’s safeguard of an individual’s right to own firearms for self-defense—separate from any militia duty and including protection against government tyranny—is District of Columbia v. Heller, handed down in 2008. For the first time, the Court clearly defined the amendment as protecting a personal right to firearms, not merely a group privilege linked to formal military service. Relying on textual and originalist approaches, the decision analyzed 18th-century language, in which “keep arms” meant private ownership and “bear arms” went beyond soldiering to encompass carrying weapons for personal confrontations, such as self-defense.
At the heart of the ruling was a deep historical review, linking the right back to English common law, such as the 1689 Bill of Rights, which allowed Protestants to arm themselves for protection. The Court stressed that the Framers saw armed citizens as essential for individual safety and as a vital barrier against oppressive rule, reflecting Anti-Federalist fears that disarming the people would pave the way for tyranny through a permanent army or elite militia. Justice Scalia pointed out that this right enables resistance to authoritarianism, noting that an armed populace discourages government excesses and maintains the militia as a restraint on federal authority. Therefore, the amendment secures firearm ownership for legitimate uses, including home self-defense as its core element, and by extension, broader defenses against dictatorship, free from ties to official military roles.
This interpretation mirrors the Founders’ intent, as captured in the Philadelphia Federal Gazette on June 18, 1789: “As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people duly before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms.” —Tench Coxe, writing as “A Pennsylvanian” in “Remarks on the First Part of the Amendments to the Federal Constitution.”
Richard Henry Lee, known as Light-Horse Harry and a lieutenant colonel during the Revolution, echoed this sentiment: “To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them…” from his “Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republic” (1787–1788). These principles demand unwavering support for the Second Amendment, nationwide constitutional carry, and the unrestricted selection of firearms, as our Founders envisioned—to ensure liberty endures against any threat.
