THE SECOND AMENDMENT AND GUN RIGHTS

Burton Atkins

DESCRIPTION: The right to keep and bear arms, as protected by the Second Amendment, has been the subject of considerable controversy in recent years. This lecture will examine the history of the Second Amendment, the leading court cases interpreting the right to bear arms, and recent controversies about gun rights and gun control.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Dr. Burton Atkins is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Florida State University (FSU) and currently teaches Political Science at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). He also serves on the faculties at Virginia Tech and Penn State Universities. In his 35-year career at FSU, Dr. Atkins taught a variety of courses on, and wrote extensively about, constitutional law and US politics; served as chair of the Political Science department; lived in London from 1992 to 1997 while serving as the Director of FSU’s London Study Center; and, from 1997 until his retirement in 2006, served as Director of the FSU International Affairs Program. An avid supporter of international education, Dr. Atkins has organized and led study semesters abroad to London, Brussels and Paris for FSU and FAU.