edited by Larry Pratt

Some people say the government is the sole protector and defender of citizens and their rights, and that the right to bear arms is nothing more than the right to arm gangs. In answer to such claims, this book is a collection of 15 essays by David Hardy, Roy Innis, David Kopel, Gary Kleck, and others about the meaning and ramifications of the Second Amendment. They discuss the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of gun control laws, the historical basis of the Second Amendment, crime control through private use of armed force, and the citizen militias in other nations such as Israel and Switzerland. These essays show the right to bear arms is an essential, inseparable part of the foundation of liberty, and that the ability to possess the means of self-defense is one of the distinguishing characteristics between free men and slaves.