The Second Amendment has been the subject of much debate in recent years. This book, rather than being about guns or gun control, is a constitutional and legal history of the controversial and often misunderstood amendment. Waldman devotes the first part of the book to the historical context of the American Revolution and the drafting of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, revealing much of what we know (and don't know) about the Framers' thoughts and intentions around this provision, most of which were focused on the need to maintain armed militias. Waldman also shows how judicial decisions and political advocacy have, over the past two hundred years, transformed a relatively obscure and minor constitutional amendment into one of the most fiercely-debated legal topics of the current moment. The book offers an eye-opening history that reveals how much our country has changed since its founding, and how our views on individual rights and civic duty have evolved over the decades.
