In the Civic Republic: Crime, the Inner City, and the Democracy of Arms—Being a Disquisition on the Revival of the Militia at Large

Authors

Robert J. Cottrol, George Washington University Law SchoolFollow
Raymond T. Diamond, Louisana State University, Baton Rouge- Paul M. Herbert Center

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2014

Status

Accepted

Abstract

This Article examines the modern utility of the Second Amendment’s guarantee of “the right to keep and bear arms” in light of the phenomenon of modern crime, particularly black-on-black violence in urban America. Although many advocates of gun control have argued that crime in modern cities is a reason for modifying or severely truncating the right to have arms, the Authors argue that the right to have arms and the Second Amendment’s notion of a universal militia can be the basis of a new partnership between police and citizens in urban America. This new partnership can, if properly developed, be a useful tool in fighting crime in inner-city communities.

GW Paper Series

GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2014-12; GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2014-12

SSRN Link

http://ssrn.com/abstract=2430410

Recommended Citation

Cottrol, Robert J. and Diamond, Raymond T., In the Civic Republic: Crime, the Inner City, and the Democracy of Arms — Being a Disquisition on the Revival of the Militia at Large (July 2013). Connecticut Law Review, Vol. 45, 2013; GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2014-12; GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2014-12. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2430410