The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in favor of the constitutional right to bear arms is a historic milestone that clearly defends one of the ten original amendments to the Constitution, a historic right that defines the identity of this country and facilitates individuals’ defense of themselves, an essential right in a truly free democracy. The Supreme court ruled that access to and bearing of arms by citizens is a fundamental constitutional right that no state or municipal government can take away.
In a vote of five against four, the judges based their decision on another case in 2008, which had determined that the second amendment to the Constitution gave individuals the right to have weapons for their self-defense. Until now, this precedent (which annulled a ruling that prohibited being armed in Washington DC) was only applicable to federal laws and entities. This new ruling establishes that no federal, state or municipal entity can prohibit the right of citizens to bear arms, which signifies the undoubtable success of the U.S. system of checks and balance and constitutional guarantees.

The case of McDonald V. City of Chicago, which set the precedent for this decision by the Supreme Court, has marked a critical moment in this debate, bringing our attention to this issue as a constitutional right of all American citizens. In this case, Otis McDonald sued the City of Chicago for prohibiting the possession of weapons. This was not the case of some crazy person who wanted weapons, but a retired engineer of 76 years of age, who voted democrat and was the victim of frequent attacks by delinquents in his home and neighborhood against which he wanted to be able to defend himself.
This decision by the Supreme Court guarantees that this constitutional right is applicable to the whole country and that citizens worried about their safety can defend themselves against violent criminals who don’t require legal rights to arm themselves to the teeth, as they already do.
Samuel Alito declared in the name of the majority of the judges that «The right that the Second amendment concedes is clearly applicable in the states, as it is among the fundamental rights of our system of organized freedom».

The judges didn’t annul certain limitations on this right and have maintained in vigor measures that prohibit convicted criminals and the mentally ill from buying weapons. Apart from maintaining the prohibition of bearing arms in schools and government buildings, they have also maintained some minimal regulations concerning the commercialization of guns.
What is left absolutely clear in this ruling by the Supreme court is that the Second Constitutional Amendment protects all law-abiding Americans’ right to self-defense as a fundamental American value that was born with our nation and has allowed its development and expansion, as well as citizens ability to defend themselves, which is one of the fundamental characteristics that identify truly free societies.
With this decision, the Supreme Court defends an essential, historical, but most importantly constitutional right of citizens facing an increasingly large and powerful government.
While to some it may seem otherwise, armed citizens guarantee safety and individual freedoms for all Americans despite the sizable risks allowing access to weapons that no sane individual can deny. The freedom to bear arms, and to defend one’s self, one’s home and family is the price of true liberty. Unfortunately, outside the United States, this right is swiftly disappearing.
So it happens that the Second Constitutional Amendment makes its grand entrance in the 21st century with the same energy it had when it was first incorporated in the United States Constitution.