David Hogg, a gun control advocate and survivor of the Parkland school shooting, recently took to Twitter to express his excitement about writing a paper on the history of the Second Amendment and gun control for his law class. According to his tweet, Hogg’s paper will cover nearly 400 years of thought around the Second Amendment, starting from the English Bill of Rights in 1689 and culminating with NYSPRA v Bruen.
The Second Amendment has been a contentious issue in American politics for decades. Proponents argue that it protects individual rights to own firearms while opponents believe it poses a threat to public safety. The landmark Supreme Court case District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) affirmed an individual’s right to own firearms for self-defense but also upheld restrictions on certain types of weapons.
Hogg’s interest in this topic is not surprising given his advocacy work for stricter gun laws after surviving one of America’s deadliest mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. His paper may provide valuable insights into historical perspectives on gun control and how they have evolved over time.