A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. The Second Amendment (Amendment II) to the United States Constitution protects the right to keep and bear arms.It was ratified on December 15, 1791. The Second Amendment protects arms, not firearms,6 and in Heller, the Supreme Court defined an arm as any. The Second Amendment is widely seen as quite unusual, because it has a justification clause as well as an operative clause. Amendment Two to the Constitution was ratified on December 15, 1791. It protects the right for Americans to possess weapons for the protection of themselves. The Second Amendment guarantees law-abiding Americans the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. But over time, gun control laws have placed limits on that freedom. Second Amendment Exceptionalism and Public Carry Super-Rights.