Second Amendment

Gun control issues arouse fierce political passions

The so-called "right to bear arms" amendment to the US constitution, ratified in 1791.

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The preamble reads: "A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the protection of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."

But the wording is open to interpretation and as a result it has become the focus of fierce debate between supporters and opponents of gun control.

Gun control opponents such as the National Rifle Association argue that amendment gives Americans the constitutional right to bear arms free from any form of government control.

But advocates of gun control say the amendment was written in the days of the "wild west" - which are now long gone - and only guarantee a right to bear arms as part of a collective militia.