The Second Amendment "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." An imposition or a privilege? Does the Second Amendment to the Constitution confer a right, or impose a tax? The argument goes back and forth, on and on. This book takes a cool look at the historical and philosophical foundation that informed the Framers' writing, the political needs at the time the Amendment was written, and the way in which it has been construed by parties of all sides since. Robert McWhirter employs a witty, light touch that manages to relate the arguments around the Amendment to its interpretation in popular culture and belies the deep scholarship and research that underpins the work. This lively account is written for the interested citizen, as well as the civics student, and there are surprising, and interesting, discursions into the way the events and personalities surrounding the Second Amendment have appeared in literature, film, sports and popular culture. The book is part of a collection chronicling the origins, history, and interpretation, of the first ten Amendments to the Constitution – the Bill of Rights.