Ammoland 2/21/2025
This Deep Dive is based on the excellent document “Heller, History, and Hunting by Charles W. Welch ” (embedded below), which was published in association with the Firearms Research Center.
The Second Amendment protects our right to keep and bear arms—but does that include the right to hunt?
• Common Use & Lawful Purpose: The paper interprets Heller and Bruen to affirm the right to arms in common use for lawful purposes, including hunting.
• Two-Step Framework:
o Is the arm in common use today?
Is the purpose currently or traditionally lawful?
If both are met, the right exists.
• “In Common Use” Defined: The existence of multiple millions of rifles intended explicitly for hunting confers in common use.
• Hunting as Lawful Purpose: Hunting is historically and legally recognized as a lawful reason for keeping and bearing arms, with no state prohibiting it.
• Historical Regulations: Hunting laws have never outright banned seasonal hunting with commonly used arms in appropriate locations.
Some might argue that hunting is just a hobby, something separate from the core of the Second Amendment’s protections. But that’s a misunderstanding of both history and Supreme Court precedent.
Hunting isn’t just an old American tradition; it’s a lawful purpose for owning and using firearms, deeply rooted in our history and protected by the Second Amendment.More:
https://www.ammoland.com/2025/02/right-to-hunt-a-core-part-of-2nd-amendment-rights/
