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Florida Atlantic University Undergraduate Law Journal

College

College of Social Work and Criminal Justice

Keywords

Militarization of police, United States, Second Amendment rights, Weapon ownership, Mass violence, Self-defense, Tyrannical government, Military-grade weaponry, Civilian access to arms, Balance of power, Government overreach, Peaceful organizers, Violent police force, Well-armed citizenry, Demilitarization, Use of force protocols, SWAT deployments, Police training, Police culture, Gun ownership debate, Civilian-government parity, Recontextualization, Law enforcement tactics, Public safety, Constitutional rights

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The increasing militarization of police forces in the United States contains profound implications on citizens’ Second Amendment rights, specifically concerning the ownership of weapons capable of mass violence. The original intent of the Second Amendment was not only to guarantee self-defense but also to safeguard citizens’ ability to resist a potentially tyrannical government. As police forces acquire military grade weaponry, some argue that civilians should have access to similar arms to maintain the balance of power between the state and its citizens, as outlined by the purpose of the Second Amendment. The historic use of violent police force to suppress peaceful organizers calls into question the necessity of a well-armed citizenry to act as a critical check on government overreach. Ultimately, demilitarizing police forces, rather than increasingly arming civilian forces is the most efficient solution to maintaining the parity of civilian and government forces. This demilitarization would include measures such as limiting access to military-grade weaponry, reevaluating use of force protocols, reducing Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) deployments, and changes in police training and culture. This paper seeks to advance research on Second Amendment rights by recontextualizing the civilian-centric discussion on gun ownership to focus on its relationship to increasing police militarization.

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