Keeping and bearing arms
Protects the right to keep and bear arms and connects its text to the importance of a well-regulated militia.
In Simple, Modern English
A well-regulated militia is important to a free state's security; the people's right to keep and carry arms must not be infringed.
Important Clauses & Details
Militia language
The opening states a security purpose related to the militia, understood in the founding era as a body of citizens available for defense.
Protected right
Supreme Court doctrine recognizes an individual right to possess firearms for lawful purposes such as self-defense. The right applies against state governments as well as the federal government.
Why It Was Added
Founding-era debates included fear of standing armies and concern that federal control could weaken state militias. The amendment grew out of these concerns about defense and concentrated power.
The right is not unlimited; the constitutional validity of a firearm regulation depends on the governing legal standards. The text should be studied together with its militia language, rather than reducing it to a slogan.
Plain-English study paraphrases summarize the text; they are not verbatim translations. Historical provisions and later changes are identified above. Sources: National Archives and Constitution Annotated.