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Worldviews and Emotional Assumptions in the Gun Civil Rights Debate

Heated debates about law-abiding responsible American gun ownership civil rights tend to start and end as emotional arguments stemming from dug-in presupposed assumptions and predetermined worldviews, rather than inquiring open-minded attitudes that lead to acceptance of convincing proof.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Why Do You Carry a Gun for Self-Defense? ]

Unalienable human rights, such as the Second Amendment, are based on the steadfast recognition that there are certain nonnegotiable, self-evident givens in human nature, prior to the state’s involvement, which the state is obligated to respect. Natural human rights are meant to be inviolate; incapable of being reduced to merely legal rights or privileges.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Brief Answers for People Who Are Against the 2nd Amendment ]

A myriad of statistical analyses are already available that support how the gun civil rights position is effective in crime control, such as

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Important Judicial Decisions Regarding Self-Defense Law ]

Because the facts are readily viewable online, the following chart is an attempt to help you recognize the underlying basic emotional premises from which each side approaches the subject. Once these perspectives are identified and acknowledged, perhaps feelings will subside to the facts, helping to deescalate emotional-only arguments.

Important Judicial Decisions Regarding Self-Defense Law

The following legal decisions concern the law of self-defense. Some of the rulings are final and others are not. They’re presented here, along with salient excerpts, to be read for their excellent judicial logic about the absolute civil right of armed self-defense as established by the framers of the US Constitution.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, USA State Constitutions Providing for Armed Self-Defense ]

US District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruling: FPC v. Bondi (September 30, 2025) by US District Judge Reed O’Connor (pdf).

This ruling strikes down the federal ban on carrying firearms in ordinary post offices and on postal property—declaring it violates the Second Amendment.

“[These laws] are inconsistent with the principles that underpin this Nation’s regulatory tradition. Thus, they are unconstitutional as-applied to carrying firearms inside an ordinary post office or on post office property.”

“[P]ossessing a firearm for self-defense within a post office or on post office property is an activity that falls within the plain text of the Second Amendment.”

“Post offices predate the founding of the United States. The first official mail service began in the American colonies in 1639….[E]ven though Congress and the Founders were aware of the ‘general societal problem’ of violence towards the postal service, the prohibition against firearms in post offices or on postal property did not appear until nearly 200 years after the founding….[I]t is hard to envision that the Founders would countenance banning firearms in the post office—particularly because they did not do so themselves.”

“An ordinary United States Post Office is defined as a United States Post Office that is not located inside of (1) a Military Base or similarly restricted access area, or (2) a Federally owned or leased building housing government functions other than a United States Post Office in which carrying a firearm would otherwise be prohibited.” *

USA State Constitutions Providing for Armed Self-Defense

According to the National Archives, “the USA Constitution might never have been ratified if the framers hadn’t promised to add a Bill of Rights. The first ten amendments to the Constitution gave citizens more confidence in the new government and contain many of today’s Americans’ most valued freedoms.” One of those is the Second Amendment:

“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 BILL OF RIGHTS, AMENDMENT II

Get your free digital Guide to the Constitution from The Heritage Foundation.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Important Judicial Decisions Regarding Self-Defense Law ]

See USCCA's interactive Concealed Carry Reciprocity Map & Gun Laws By State

Source: USCCA interactive Concealed Carry Reciprocity Map & Gun Laws By State

[ Read the SemperVerus article, The 5 Elements of Self-Defense Law ]

Below is the right to keep and bear arms as expressed in each USA state’s constitution:

The 5 Elements of Self-Defense Law

Attorney Andrew Branca has distilled the self-defense laws in all USA 50 states. He says, “There are at most 5 elements to any self-defense case (and often not even that many). That’s true in every one of the 50 states, and all US territories.”

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of the SELF-DEFENSE ]

Be sure you adhere to them if you believe you are honestly and reasonably confronted by a situation where you need to prevent an immediate, otherwise unavoidable danger of death, great bodily harm (generally considered a crippling or disfiguring injury), or, in some states, sexual assault to yourself or another innocent person you have the right to protect.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, The 4 Basic Rules of Gun Safety ]