But today, after decades of effort by gun rights activists, the court declared the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right aimed, at the very least, at citizens protecting home and hearth.

NPR: Supreme Court Strikes Down D.C. Handgun Ban

As far as that's concerned, what I believe is, the Second Amendment gives people an individual right to keep and to bear arms.

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But opponents say the measure would violate the Second Amendment, the clause in the US Constitution that refers to the right of citizens "to keep and bear arms".

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To non-Americans, oblivious to the constitutional guarantee of the right of the people to keep and bear arms, the connection between guns and tragedy seems obvious.

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To decide the case, the justices had to rule directly on the meaning of the Second Amendment, a provision with only 27 words: 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.

NPR: Supreme Court Strikes Down D.C. Handgun Ban

"My purpose was to make a statement in support of the Second Amendment, " she said before the vote, referring to the clause in the US Constitution that mentions the right of citizens "to keep and bear arms".

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