70 PART oNE • THE AMERiCAN sYsTEM
clause are now subject to the three-part Lemon test. How the test is applied, however, has
varied over the years.
In a number of cases, the Supreme Court has held that state programs helping
church-related schools are unconstitutional. In other cases, however, the Supreme Court
has allowed states to use tax funds for lunches, textbooks, diagnostic services for speech
and hearing problems, standardized tests, and special educational services for disadvan-
taged students attending religious schools.school vouchers. An ongoing controversy concerning the establishment clause has to
do with school vouchers. Many people believe that the public schools are failing to edu-at issue
The Second Amendment to the United States
Constitution provides a right to keep and bear arms.
In 2008, the United States Supreme Court found this to
be a right enjoyed by individuals. The national govern-
ment therefore lacks the power to ban handguns com-
pletely. In 2010, the rule was imposed on the states.a
In December 2012, a young man in Connecticut
stole his mother’s semiautomatic Bushmaster XM15
rifle, which had a magazine holding thirty rounds of
bullets. He murdered her and then attacked Sandy
Hook Elementary School, killing twenty-six students
and staff. In July 2012, in Aurora, Colorado, a shooter
used a hundred- round drum in a semiautomatic rifle
to kill or wound most of his seventy victims before
the weapon jammed. They were attending a midnight
showing of the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.
Such violence has prompted calls to ban the assault-
type weapons used in these crimes. Is such a ban desir-
able? Is it even constitutional?NOBODY NEEDS THESE WEAPONS
FOR HUNTING OR PROTECTION
Those in favor of banning the sale of assault-type weap-
ons argue that such a step does not violate the Second
Amendment. After all, who really needs these military-
type weapons? Semiautomatic weapons based on
military assault rifles are not optimized for hunting.
They are second-rate deer rifles and completely useless
for waterfowl. These firearms are not ideal for target
shooting either—they are not used in international and
Olympic competition.The use of such weapons for self-defense is prob-
lematic. A handgun is more portable, and a shotgun
is easier to aim. So, why do so many people want such
weapons? Some argue that buyers are fulfilling fanta-
sies. The dream is that the guns will be used to protect
homes and families after a collapse of civilization, or
even to rebel against the government. Let’s base gun
laws on reality instead. These weapons have no place
in America’s homes and businesses.BANNING ASSAULT-TYPE
WEAPONS WILL HAVE NO EFFECT
Those who oppose a ban observe that the vast majority
of firearm deaths result from weapons that would not
be subject to the proposed ban on assault-style weap-
ons. In 1994, Congress passed the Federal Assault
Weapons Ban. Two leading researchers concluded
that the ban had no detectable impact on murder rates,
which have fallen since the ban expired in 2004.
An alternative to a ban on assault-style weapons
would be to limit the size of the magazines that hold
ammunition. Proponents of such legislation argue
that no one needs a thirty- or hundred-round maga-
zine for hunting, target shooting, or self-protection.
Still, such a law would not have prevented the disaster
at Virginia Tech in 2007. In that instance, the shooter
fired 176 rounds from multiple ten- and fifteen-round
magazines. If magazines were limited to ten rounds,
shooters could just arm themselves with multiple
magazines.FOR CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Does the Second Amendment give all Americans the right to bear
arms of any type at all times in any location? Why or why not?SHOULD WE BAN ASSAULT-TYPE WEAPONS?
a. District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008); and
MacDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 3025 (2010).9781285436388_04_ch04_066-091.indd 70 10/15/13 8:56 AM
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