Stefan B. Tahmassebi

Stefan B. Tahmassebi argues in the following viewpoint that the Second Amendment protects individual gun ownership. He notes that because the amendment refers both to a “well-regulated militia” and to “the right of the people to keep and bear arms,” many gun control advocates have interpreted the amendment as applying only to state militias rather than individuals. Tahmassebi maintains that this interpretation is simply incorrect. For example, he points to Supreme Court decisions in which the term “militia” has been taken to mean “all citizens capable of bearing arms,” and others in which it was recognized that the Second Amendment applies to individuals who do not serve in the armed forces. Tahmassebi is deputy general counsel for the National Rifle Association.

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