A debate on the modern validity of the 2A
From Intelligence Squared US Debates, November 14th 2013
Article Source
"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." –2nd Amendment
Recent mass shooting tragedies have renewed the national debate over the 2nd Amendment. Gun ownership and homicide rates are higher in the U.S. than in any other developed nation, but gun violence has decreased over the last two decades even as gun ownership may be increasing. Over 200 years have passed since James Madison introduced the Bill of Rights, the country has changed, and so has its guns. Is the right to bear arms now at odds with the common good, or is it as necessary today as it was in 1789?
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| FOR - Alan Dershowitz,Professor of Law, Harvard Law School | FOR - Sanford Levinson Professor of Law and of Government, University of Texas | AGAINST - David Kopel Research Director, Independence Institute & Associate Policy Analyst, Cato Institute | AGAINST - Eugene Volokh Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law | MODERATOR - John Donvan, Author & Correspondent for ABC News |
For those who may prefer to follow the debate just through a sound file - you can download the (compressed - 6MB) file from here, or listen in the player below. It is also available on the Talkin' to America page here on JPFO.
A Debate on 2A usefulness.
A transcript (PDF) may be downloaded from here., which includes voting results.
The debate has yielded a large number of comments, and these can be found on the original source page.
