1 option
The mythic meanings of the Second Amendment : taming political violence in a constitutional republic / David C. Williams.
LIBRA KF4558 2nd .W55 2003
Available from offsite location
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Williams, David C., 1960-
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- United States. Constitution--2nd Amendment--History.
- United States.
- Firearms--Law and legislation--United States--History.
- Firearms.
- Political violence--United States--History.
- Political violence.
- Government, Resistance to--United States--History.
- Government, Resistance to.
- History.
- Firearms--Law and legislation.
- United States--Militia.
- Militia.
- Physical Description:
- x, 397 pages ; 25 cm
- Place of Publication:
- New Haven [Conn.] : Yale University Press, [2003]
- Summary:
- The Second Amendment, which concerns the right of the people to keep and bear arms, has been the subject of great debate for decades. Does it protect an individual's right to arms or only the right of the states to maintain militias? In this book David C. Williams offers a new reading of the Second Amendment: that it guarantees to individuals a right to arms only insofar as they are part of a united and consensual people, so that their uprising can be a unified revolution rather than a civil war. Williams argues that the Second Amendment has been based on myths about America--the Framers' belief in American unity and modern interpreters' belief in American distrust and disunity. Neither of these myths, however, will adequately curb political violence. Williams suggests that the amendment should serve not as a rule of law but as a cultural ideal that promotes our unity on the use of political violence and celebrates our diversity in other areas of life.
- Contents:
- The background of the framers' thinking
- The history of the Second Amendment
- The original legal meaning of the Second Amendment and the military provisions of the constitution
- Antirevolutionists
- Libertarians and populists
- The militia movement's theory of the Second Amendment
- Outgroups and the Second Amendment
- The silent crisis
- Redeeming the people.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 327-380) and index.
- ISBN:
- 0300095627
- OCLC:
- 50228532
The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.