William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal to publish “The Right to Train: A Pillar of the Second Amendment,” spotlighting the rich history, rational thought, and longstanding laws that champion training with arms as key to the survival of America’s Republic
LAS VEGAS – Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF) today announced that William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal (BORJ) will publish a scholarly paper authored by the foundation’s director of constitutional studies, Joseph Greenlee. Through a first of its kind in-depth exploration, “The Right to Train: A Pillar of the Second Amendment” presents compelling evidence in support of the right to train with the very weapons protected by the U.S. Constitution, and provides courts with examples of history and legal precedent to establish it as a “core” human right. The article, expected to be published in BORJ’s forthcoming Vol. 31, 2022 issue this fall, can be viewed here on SSRN.
“The Right to Train” examines every aspect of the right’s application, including for self-defense, community defense, militia rights, and the prevention of tyranny. As Greenlee’s research compels, history clearly illustrates that the activity of training was cherished by the Founders as an essential element of the enumerated right to keep and bear arms.
The paper’s findings address a timely need for substantive exploration of this critical right. “Since the Supreme Court confirmed that the Second Amendment protects ‘the individual right to possess and carry weapons’ in District of Columbia v. Heller,” the paper’s introduction reads, “…lower courts have been grappling with whether there is also a right to train with those weapons…Given the historical foundation of the right to train, courts should ensure that it is robustly protected by the Second Amendment, as the Founders intended.” Read more