That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right

Few issues ignite such impassioned debate as the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Does it really give citizens the right to possess firearms, or is that right restricted to a "well-regulated militia" such as the National Guard?

Halbrook traces the origins of the Second Amendment back to ancient Greece and Rome, and then through the “freemen” movement in 18th century England and France. He demonstrates that the framers of the U.S. Constitution were conscious of such history when they drafted the Second Amendment, and that the Second Amendment was clearly intended to allow possession of firearms not just for the defense of personal life and property, but also to prevent government infringement of human liberties.

Halbrook has successfully argued against gun restrictions in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, such as portions of the “Brady Bill” that required local police to enforce certain federal gun laws. He brings the same meticulous, thorough scholarship to this book. He demonstrates that the right to bear arms is as fundamental a right under the U.S. Constitution as freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Stephen P. Halbrook is a Research Fellow with the Independent Institute who has argued and won three constitutional law cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Dr. Halbrook is the author of eight books including The Founders’ Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms; Securing Civil Rights: Freedmen, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Right To Bear Arms; That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right; A Right to Bear Arms: State and Federal Bills of Rights and Constitutional Guarantees; Target Switzerland (also in German, French, Italian, and Polish editions); and The Swiss and the Nazis: How the Alpine Republic Survived in the Shadow of the Third Reich. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Florida State University and J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. His popular articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, San Antonio Express-News, Environmental Forum, USA Today, and Washington Times, and he has appeared on numerous national TV/radio programs such as “The Phil Donahue Show” and programs on Fox Business Network, Court TV, Voice of America, CNN, and C-SPAN.