Does the Second Amendment mean that U.S. citizens have an inalienable right to own a gun?
No. In 1939, the U.S. Supreme Court held in United States v. Miller that the “obvious purpose” of the Second Amendment is to “assure the continuation and render possible the effectiveness” of the state militia, and the Amendment “must be interpreted and applied with that end in view.”1 The Court rejected a Second Amendment challenge brought by two individuals charged with violating a federal law prohibiting the interstate transportation of sawed-off shotguns. In other words, the Court refused to find an individual right to bear arms unrelated to service in a state militia and reiterated the right of the federal government to regulate firearms.
