Amicus Brief in McDonald v. Chicago: On Behalf of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and National Association for Gun Rights

Abstract

In the American West, the right to keep and bear arms continues to be an essential component of citizenship. Strict protection of the right to possess firearms and a broad protection of an individual’s right to use self-defense are universal values in the West.

A detailed examination of the law and culture of the West reveals several common themes, the most prominent being a total lack of tolerance for the sort of onerous prohibitions and registration requirements at issue in the instant case. Moreover, the trend from the antebellum period to modern day has been toward ever stronger legal protection for the right to keep and bear arms.

Ultimately, the law and culture of the West reflects the views of the Second Amendment held by the drafters of the Constitution and the drafters of the Fourteenth Amendment: That the right to keep and bear arms is both an individual and fundamental right, the exercise of which makes self-defense possible and protects against tyranny.

Keywords: Second Amendment, Gun, Western, Fourteenth Amendment, Law, Culture