Critique of 2nd Amend Ratified to Protect Slavery

David Kopel’s 1998 article, “The Second Amendment in the Nineteenth Century,” in 1998 B.Y.U. L. Rev. 1359 is an excellent rebuttal to Bogus’ theory that the Second Amendment was ratified to protect slavery. The article is a long and thorough historical review. The material on Bogus’ theory starts at p. 1515 (fn. 647).

Bogus’ piece is at 31 U.C. Davis Law Review 309 (1998).  It turns a relatively obscure, constitutionally incorrect,  and unimportant point in the debate into the centerpiece of the amendment.