By David Ferguson
Most people are familiar with the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution and its protection of your inalienable right to keep and bear arms, but did you know your rights are also protected under the Arkansas Constitution?
The Arkansas provision could become very important in the future because Democrats have floated the idea of stacking the United States Supreme Court with liberal judges by expanding the membership of the Supreme Court until they can get enough justices who are willing to reinterpret the constitution in a way to rubber stamp their radical left agenda.
What if the left gets its way and they add Supreme Court justices until they can dismantle the second amendment by explaining it away? The Arkansas Constitution will still provide some protection of your right to keep and bear arms. The time is NOW to start learning about the protection of your rights under the Arkansas Constitution.
Let’s look at the language of the U.S. Constitution and the Arkansas Constitution.
Amendment 2 of the U.S. Constitution: “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.”
Article 2, Section 5 of the Arkansas Constitution: “The citizens of this State shall have the right to keep and bear arms, for their common defense.”
The left has tried to attack the 2nd Amendment in a number of ways including, their attempts to claim the 2A is only about providing for a militia, not individual rights. Then they further try to equate the militia to the National Guard in each state. They latch on the introductory clause of the Amendment, which references a well-regulated militia and then they completely ignore the language that follows which protects the rights of individuals (not Militias).
When I read the 2nd Amendment I think about the experience of our founding fathers during the American revolution. When Lexington and Concord happened there was no time to teach people how to use a rifle. What happened there was only possible because people had firearms and knew very well how to use them.
The Arkansas Constitution has none of the militia language the left wants to distort.
“The citizens of this State shall have the right to keep and bear arms, for their common defense.”
- You need to know about your rights under the Arkansas Constitution.
- When firearms legislation is proposed in the Arkansas General Assembly, the legislation needs to be scrutinized not just under the U.S. Constitution but also under the Arkansas Constitution
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David Ferguson is an attorney, a former Director of the Arkansas Bureau of Legislative Research, and a contributor to Conduit News.
