[tyme]

Many of them are up at http://www.thehighroad.org/library/const.html

Some states are still missing.

Feel free to post new ones here. Or corrections. I'm fairly confident about AL, FL, GA, KT, MI, and TX because they all have sites dedicated to their respective historical constitutions. Please don't post additions without providing a link to the document in question.

All constitution years are welcome. Most of the colonial charters don't have any list of rights (imagine that) so I didn't bother to add the years and put "None," but if someone posts them as an addition I'll add them.

If you post an addition, please include
1) State
2) Year
3) Link to source document
4) Text
5) Cite

[voilsb]

For the Oregon State Constitution, 2002 Edition

Article I, Bill of Rights

Section 27. Right to bear arms; military subordinate to civil power.

The people shall have the right to bear arms for the defence (sic) of themselves, and the State, but the Military shall be kept in strict subordination to the civil power[.]


The webpage for the Oregon Constitution was out of date, though. Here's the current one: http://www.leg.state.or.us/orcons/orcons.html

In order to clarify the above comment which doesn't make a lot of sense (The webpage was out of date, so here's the webpage??) ...

I grabbed my initial data from the below-cited RKBA website. They had a link to the Oregon Constitution, and that link was out of date (404 not found), so I provided the current link.

[TheBluesMan]

The RKBA clauses of each state's constitution (if applicable) can be found here along with the requirement for public servants to take an oath to defend the constitution.

http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcInfoBase.asp?CatID=266

It's sad how few take their oaths seriously anymore. :(

[TheBluesMan]

The Ohio Constitution on Inalienable Rights

Ohio Constitution: Article 1, Section 1

"All men are, by nature, free and independent, and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and seeking and obtaining happiness and safety. "

Source: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/constitution.cfm?Part=1&Section=01



The Ohio Constitution on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Ohio Constitution: Article 1, Section 4

"The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security; but standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and shall not be kept up; and the military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power."

Source: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/constitution.cfm?Part=1&Section=04

[Mark Tyson]

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=508673

"You are all mistaken. There is no right to bear arms. These clauses are to prevent the states from disarming . . . from disarming their own militias. This is well known to all but that ignorant dog LaPierre, and his mercenaries in the
N - R - A. Do not believe these lies of the gun lobby, and their imperialist running dog lackeys in the Congress. These are all lies. Soon we will expose them for the dogs they are. Very soon now. We have secret evidence that is being prepared even now that will expose them. We have them on the run. You will see."

[geekWithA.45]

:what: ROFLMAO!

[geekWithA.45]

NJ 1947, if you missed it:

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/lawsconstitution/constitution.asp

All persons are by nature free and independent, and have certain natural and unalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.

While it doesn't specifically mention arms, they are certainly implied, but considering the level of infringement that exists in state where they ARE specifically mentioned, it's no suprise that NJ is the way it is.

[AJ Dual]

Wisconsin

Enacted in 1998. (And a great help in our current CCW battle)

http://www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/unannotated_wisconst.pdf

"The people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose."

[tyme]

gwa45, I realize that the right to self defense includes anything useful for that purpose, but the general right to self defense is so much more general I don't think that can count as an RKBA clause. i.e. in britain you sortof have a right to defend yourself if you really need to, but you don't have the right to particular weapons. For example, see the entry under California on the page linked from the first post.

We all have a right to privacy but if someone wanted to collect constitutional privacy clauses, I don't think the 3rd, fourth, or fifth amendments are close enough to be counted.

Wis has been updated to note that the rkba clause was added by amendment in 1998.

[Al Norris]

An addendum to the Idaho Laws should be noted:

Up until 1971, Article 1 section 11 said, "The people have the right to bear arms for their security and defense, but the legislature shall regulate the exercise of this right by law."

In the 1902 case of In re Brickey, 8 Idaho 597 (1902), the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that because of the wording of section 11, the legislature could in fact rule as to how the people in Idaho bore their arms, as long as such legislation did not in any way proscribe all means of bearing arms: "Under these constitutional provisions, the legislature has no power to prohibit a citizen from bearing arms in any portion of the state of Idaho, whether within or without the corporate limits of cities, towns, and villages. The legislature may, as expressly provided in our state constitution, regulate the exercise of this right, but may not prohibit it. A statute prohibiting the carrying of concealed deadly weapons would be a proper exercise of the police power of the state. But the statute in question does not prohibit the carrying of weapons concealed, which is of itself a pernicious practice, but prohibits the carrying of them in any manner in cities, towns, and villages. We are compelled to hold this statute void."

In 1970, an amendment was proposed to further clarify In Re Brickey. It was passed in that years general election and took effect in January of 1971: "The people have the right to keep and bear arms, which right shall not be abridged; but this provision shall not prevent the passage of laws to govern the carrying of weapons concealed on the person nor prevent passage of legislation providing minimum sentences for crimes committed while in possession of a firearm, nor prevent the passage of legislation providing penalties for the possession of firearms by a convicted felon, nor prevent the passage of any legislation punishing the use of a firearm. No law shall impose licensure, registration or special taxation on the ownership or possession of firearms or ammunition. Nor shall any law permit the confiscation of firearms, except those actually used in the commission of a felony."

It wasn't until 1989 that the Idaho Legislature passed statutes for the issuing of concealed weapons permits.

[Mark Tyson]

The state RKBA clauses are a very good way to counter the antis argument that the 2nd amendment only protects a government militia. It is clear that the people and the militia are one and the same. If the 2nd only means that the government can't disarm state militias, then do the state RKBA amendments mean that the state cannot disarm its own militia? Makes no sense.

"The defense of the state" is often listed as a purpose of the right to arms, along with the defense of the individual. It follows that the RKBA clauses protect the right of citizens to have militarily useful weapons.

It's interesting that some state constitutions draw a distinction between a general right to bear arms and the carrying of concealed weapons such as in Missouri's constitution.

[Al Norris]

It's interesting that some state constitutions draw a distinction between a general right to bear arms and the carrying of concealed weapons such as in Missouri's constitution.
It goes back to the days when everyone who carried, did so openly. Those who carried concealed were generally rogue gamblers and other assorted shifty characters. Honest men wore their arms openly.

Times have changed since those days. Now not only do the crroks still carry concealed, but it is to the advantage of the honest man not to be the immediate target, so we carry concealed as well.

[WvaBill]

West Virginia (http://www.state.wv.us/const/article3.htm)

CON 3-22. Right to keep and bear arms.

A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, and for lawful hunting and recreational use.