Writing good history is about honest interpretation. Historical events can be muddled and complicated, even contradictory, as people are involved and people can have competing interests and emotional motivations that are hard to fathom through time. People involved in the events also might have had an interest in hiding the true story—this isn’t the only age that’s rife with media members and politicians who are attempting to shape narratives.
Such is why good history writers are good detectives.
Which brings us to Stephen P. Halbrook and his latest book The Right to Bear Arms: A Constitutional Right of the People or a Privilege of the Ruling Class?
When it comes to unearthing the real history of the Second Amendment, there is no one better than Halbrook. He knows that honest books on the Second Amendment need to go to original documents, as they focus on taking out the spin from modern academics, the mainstream media, and from some of today’s politicians.
No doubt, you know Halbrook, as he is a constant contributor to America’s 1st Freedom. He is a constitutional attorney who focuses on the Second Amendment, and he has argued and won gun cases in the U.S. Supreme Court.
His book The Right to Bear Arms is an intriguing study of the history of the right to carry arms outside of the home. As such, it rebuts attempts by anti-gun advocates to rewrite history and “cancel” the Founding generation’s experiences with firearms.
Some of these anti-gun advocates now attempting to obscure our history wear black robes. Last March, for example, a majority of judges in an en banc ruling by the Ninth Circuit ruled: “There is no right to carry arms openly in public; nor is any such right within the scope of the Second Amendment.” This unconstitutional opinion expanded a Ninth Circuit ruling from 2016: “There is no Second Amendment right for members of the general public to carry concealed firearms in public.”
With straight faces they argue that the right to “bear” arms means only in the home.
But this week, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, an NRA-backed challenge to New York City’s onerous restrictions of law-abiding residents constitutionally-protected right to carry arms. This makes Halbrook’s book even more topical and important.
With deep, historical analysis, this book clearly shows that the right to peaceably carry firearms is a fundamental right protected by the Second Amendment, and is part of our American history and tradition.
Read this book and you’ll be able to cite the facts to anyone when the mainstream media attempts to twist this issue with dishonest narratives.
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