Research Paper on:
The Right to Bear Arms

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
any despotic leader. One of the most important of these freedoms is the right to bear arms. This right was addressed by Alexander Hamilton at the time he  formed the U.S. military. He was accused of granting power to the federal government that could lead to tyranny. Hamilton responded: "that army [the Regular Army] can never  be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens . . . who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of  their fellow citizens."1 As this statement shows, the framers of the Constitution viewed the right to bear arms as a positive good. Two hundred years after the Second Amendment  was passed and the streets are rife with crime, some citizens believe that their lives will be improved if others are denied the right to bear arms. They believe that  the passage of gun laws will make guns disappear out of criminals hands. The evidence disproves this line of thinking, and a legal review of the Second Amendment holds  that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."2 Historical Perspective  "The right to keep and bear arms originated in the common law right of self-defense."3 The Common Law was established to give men the right to keep arms  for protection, for the defense of the state. Hunting was the main source of food into the mid-nineteenth century. During the early years, there was no effective police  force, and with the expansion west, guns were used in territorial was with hostile Indian tribes. Travelers carried guns as a matter of course, and holsters were sewn into