Your Second Amendment Rights: How to Utilize and Protect Them
Do you know what your second amendment right is?
“A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
What does our Second Amendment mean now? The U.S. Constitution, forty four state constitutions and the laws of all fifty states recognize the fundamental right to self-defense by allowing citizens to use or carry fire arms for the purpose of self protection. Up until 1987, only ten states were RTC states. The other forty states completely prohibited carrying fire arms, or law enforcement was allowed to deny an eligible citizen a permit to carry for arbitrary reasons.
What is RTC? What does it mean? RTC stands for the Right-To-Carry. This is not a simple answer. There are many meanings, depending on where you are. Thirty eight states have “shall issue” RTC laws. That means they “shall issue” a permit to a qualified applicant that meets a uniform standard established by state legislators. Three states, Connecticut, Alabama and Iowa, have fair discretionary-issue systems. Also Alaska and Vermont have “no-permit required” but still have a “shall issue” provision.
We will use Virginia laws for an example. You are allowed to own a fire arm if you meet the age requirements for that specific type of weapon; 18 to purchase a fire arm and 21 for a handgun. You can not be a felon or have any pending felony charges. You can not have any misdemeanor charges that carry a sentence of a year or more. You can not have an outstanding protective order, restraining orders, warrants against you in any jurisdiction or have been convicted of any misdemeanor domestic violence. You can not be an unlawful drug addict or user. An addicted person or unlawful user is a person who has been convicted of possession or use in the last 12 months; or has multiple arrests within the last 60 months, if the most recent...