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University of Richmond

1991

Patrick Henry

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The Second Amendment: A Study Of Recent Trends, Michael T. O'Donnell Jan 1991

The Second Amendment: A Study Of Recent Trends, Michael T. O'Donnell

University of Richmond Law Review

The second amendment of the Constitution of the United States reads: "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." The interpretation of these twenty-seven words has generated considerable debate since they were first declared in force in 1791.2 Despite a growing argument over the true meaning of the amendment, the Supreme Court has been reluctant to provide a definitive interpretation of the second amendment and thus give it the recognition it merits.


Virginia And The Ratification Of The Bill Of Rights, 1789-1791, J. Gordon Hylton Jan 1991

Virginia And The Ratification Of The Bill Of Rights, 1789-1791, J. Gordon Hylton

University of Richmond Law Review

Historians and constitutional scholars have paid scant attention to the process by which the states ratified the Bill of Rights. The states' ratifying conventions of 1787 and 1788 have been examined in great detail, as have the debates of the first Congress which led to the presentation of the Bill of Rights to the states. Scholars, however, have treated the ratification of the first ten amendments as little more than an historical formality. Why more than two full years passed between the Congressional adoption of the proposed amendments and the approval by the requisite number of states has never been …