Second Amendment to the American Constitution. Genesis, Targets and Objectives

The author will try to trace the genesis of the Second Amendment in the context of the American constitution process and the influence of other legal acts on the final content of the provision in question. What’s more the author will analyze the ideas that accompanied the Founding Fathers and which led to the creation of the United States Constitution. The author will analyze the objectives of the Second Amendment and the ideological assumptions that underpin it, including the issue of enabling citizens personal defense and the protection of private property, as well as the issue of guaranteeing citizens an effective tool to resist the state apparatus as a guarantee of citizens’ freedom as well as to prevent possible tyranny. Finally, the author will refer to the issue of culture of gun ownership in the USA and Poland.

Legal Aspects of Legalization of Circulation and Use of Firearms by Civilians in order to Repel Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation

The current aggression of the Russian Federation (RF) against Ukraine has highlighted various actual socio-political and criminal issues. It was established that the problem of legalization of circulation and use of firearms by civilians to repel the armed aggression of the Russian Federation arouses the greatest interest in society. The analysis of normative acts allows determining two levels of civilians’ accessing to firearms to repel the armed aggression of the Russian Federation: general and special. The general level is determined by the laws of Ukraine «On Ensuring the Participation of Civilians in the Defense of Ukraine» from 03.03.2022 № 2114-IX and «On Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine and other Laws of Ukraine to Determine the Circumstances that Exclude Criminal Misconduct and Provide Combat Immunity Actions in the conditions of martial law» from 15.03.2022 № 2124-IX. Special one is defined by the Law of Ukraine «On Fundamentals of National Resistance» of 16.07.2021 № 1702-IX and the Procedure for the use of personal hunting weapons and ammunition by members of voluntary formations of territorial communities in the performance of territorial defense tasks, approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of December 29, 2021 № 1448. The analysis of normative acts at the general level allows to determine the gaps in the Law of Ukraine № 2114-IX, such as: the lack of clear correspondence with the Law of Ukraine № 1702-IX; incorrect reference to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine № 828; lack of clear conditions for the use of weapons. The positive aspects are: expanding opportunities not only for the citizens of Ukraine, but also for foreigners and stateless persons to obtain and use firearms; de facto exclusion of criminal liability for the use of firearms. It is established that the Law of Ukraine № 2124-IX provides for a new circumstance that excludes the criminal illegality of the act, that is «Fulfillment of the Duty to Protect the Fatherland, Independence and Territorial Integrity of Ukraine» (Article 43–1 of the Criminal Code), which determines, on the one hand, rather wide opportunities for Ukraine protection; on the other hand, it provides a number of conditions for the legality of the act, which significantly complicate such activities. It is proved that regulations at the special level are designed more for the peaceful period of life (it is complicated by conditions that are difficult to comply with in a particular period), subjects and means of protection are clearly defined, time limits are defined, and that is the period of territorial defense tasks performing. A discrepancy was established between the list of remedies defined by the Law of Ukraine № 1702-IX and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution № 1448. It was stated that these regulations do not apply to all civilians and do not provide more opportunities for defense.

Firearms and Related Crimes in Poland and Selected European Countries

This article is based on an overview of the legislation on access to firearms in Poland and European countries, as well as an overview of the figures on the number of gun crime. The aim of the article is to present the regulations governing access to firearms in Poland and selected European countries.