The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution provides for the right to keep and bear arms, and reads: "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."

Some people believe this language creates a Constitutional, individual right for citizens of the United States to keep and bear arms, and prohibits Congress and state legislatures from prohibiting or restricting the possession of firearms.

Others believe the beginning words ("A well regulated militia being necessary”) indicate the intent of the Amendment was only to restrict Congress from limiting a state’s right to self-defense. This collective rights theory of the Second Amendment holds that citizens do not have an individual right to possess firearms, and that federal, state, and local legislative bodies may regulate the possession of firearms without implicating a Constitutional right.

At the time the First Amendment was ratified, some militia members used their own weapons, and some used weapons from their state’s militia stores.

In Idaho, the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution is upheld, recognizing the right of individuals to keep and bear arms. Idaho state law aligns with the individual rights interpretation of the Second Amendment, meaning that citizens have the right to possess firearms, and this right is protected against infringement by both federal and state legislation. Idaho has a strong tradition of gun ownership and is known for having some of the least restrictive gun laws in the United States. The state does not require permits to purchase firearms, there is no firearms registration, and residents are allowed to carry concealed weapons without a permit in most places. However, the debate over the individual rights versus collective rights interpretation of the Second Amendment continues at the national level. The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the individual rights view in landmark cases such as District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), which held that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), which determined that this right is fully applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.