2nd Amendment Day Date in the current year: December 15, 2024

Following the adoption of the United States Constitution, James Madison crafted a series of amendments based on the deficiencies of the Constitution that had been pointed out by anti-federalists. These amendments guaranteed specific personal freedoms and rights. One of these rights was the right to keep and bear arms, codified in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The text of the Second Amendment as codified in the Bill of Rights is the following: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”. However, some versions of the Second Amendment ratified by the states have differences in punctuation and/or capitalization, which has led to debates regarding the meaning of amendment.

Due to the right to keep and bear arms being constitutionally protected, the United States has the highest gun ownership rate in the world, with an estimate of 120.5 civilian firearms per 100 people and 42% of households owning firearms. The ten states with the highest rates of gun ownership, ranging from 55% to 66%, are North Dakota, South Dakota, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, West Virginia, Idaho, Alaska, Wyoming, and Montana.

Due to is high gun ownership rate and generally permissive firearm regulations, the United States has a unique gun culture for a developed country. Modern-day gun politics in the United States is polarized between advocates of stricter gun control and supporters of gun rights. Most of the former are liberal, while most of the latter are conservative.

It should be noted, however, that while the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms, gun ownership in the United States is not unrestricted. Access to guns is controlled by a number of federal acts that regulate the trade and possession of firearms and ammunition.

Some U. S. states observe 2nd Amendment Day to show support for the fundamental right to keep and bear arms. In South Carolina, for example, Second Amendment Awareness Day is observed on December 15 to commemorate the ratification of the Second Amendment, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights. The awareness day is part of a campaign that aims to educate state school students about gun rights.

In Oklahoma, 2nd Amendment Day is observed on June 28 to commemorate the Supreme Court ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago in 2010 that held that state and local governments are limited to the same extent as the federal government from infringing upon the right to keep and bear arms.

In addition, Second Amendment Action Day has been held in Pennsylvania in April or May since 2006. It is a rally in support of gun rights held in front of the Pennsylvania State Capitol.