Armed in America: A History of Gun Rights from Colonial Militias to Concealed Carry

Legal scholar Charles (Historicism, Originalism and the Constitution) presents a fascinating and thoroughly researched history of gun rights and gun control in America. Charles reminds anyone in need of a constitutional refresher course that the Second Amendment is specifically addressed not to gun rights for individuals, but for “well-regulated militias.” It was in the 19th and early 20th century, as the author cogently explains, that this right “underwent a noticeable transformation” as state and local restrictions on arms prompted avid gun owners to organize and develop a gun-rights platform. This movement, spearheaded by the National Rifle Association, went largely unchecked until the 1968 assassination, by pistol, of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (who, the author points out, was an outspoken NRA critic). Still, neither that event nor the gun violence since has halted what Charles provocatively calls the “golden age of gun rights,” during which the NRA continues to argue that the Second Amendment protects a personal right to own practically any kind of firearm. Charles ably draws on reproductions of historical documents and gun-related political cartoons and advertisements to support his text. While he avoids taking a position, his meticulously documented, highly convincing account suggests that one particularly controversial right—to carry concealed weapons in public—is constitutionally untenable. Agent: Alexa Stark, Trident Media Group. (Jan. 2018)