Böcker av Patrick J. Charles

Patrick J. Charles charts the rise of gun rights activism from the early twentieth century through the 1980 presidential election, pinpointing the role of the 1968 Gun Control Act. Offering a deep dive into the politicization of gun rights, Vote Gun reveals the origins of the acrimonious divisions that persist to this day.

This accessible legal history describes how the Second Amendment has been interpreted throughout most of American history and shows that today's gun-rights advocates have drastically departed from the long-held interpretation of the constitutional right to bear arms.This illuminating study traces the transformation of the right to arms from its inception in English and colonial American law to today's impassioned gun-control debate. As historian and legal scholar Patrick J. Charles shows, what the right to arms means to Americans, as well as what it legally protects, has changed drastically since its first appearance in the 1689 Declaration of Rights.Armed in America explores how and why the right to arms transformed at different points in history. The right was initially meant to serve as a parliamentary right of resistance, yet by the ratification of the Second Amendment in 1791 the right had become indispensably intertwined with civic republicanism. As the United States progressed into the 19th century the right continued to change--this time away from civic republicanism and towards the individual-right understanding that is known today, albeit with the important caveat that the right could be severely restricted by the government's police power. Throughout the 20th century this understanding of the right remained the predominant view. But working behind the scenes was the beginnings of the gun-rights movement--a movement that was started in the early 20th century through the collective efforts of sporting magazine editors and was eventually commandeered by the National Rifle Association to become the gun-rights movement known today.Readers looking to sort through the shrill rhetoric surrounding the current gun debate and arrive at an informed understanding of the legal and historical development of the right to arms will find this book to be an invaluable resource.

The use of history in law is a time honored tradition. Over the years the practice has assumed many forms, including historicism, intentionalism, interpretivist history, law office history, historical narrative, originalism, etc. This book picks up where past commentators have left off. The different historically based approaches to adjudicating constitutional questions are weighed and considered, particularly originalism, and asserts that history in law is legitimate only if it leads to accurate results. The book then purposes an approach to accomplish the objectives of historical accuracy and objectivity, and therefore legitimacy.

Examines the Second Amendment, looking at its earliest drafts and its placement within the Bill of Rights, the state constitutional ratifying conventions, and judicial interpretations of the amendment through the landmark decision in 2008's District of Columbia v Heller.