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 Mississippi, the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution is interpreted to protect an individual's right to keep and bear arms. This interpretation aligns with the 2008 Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which recognized the Second Amendment as protecting an individual's right to possess firearms unconnected with service in a militia. Mississippi state law reflects this understanding by allowing individuals to possess firearms and by enacting 'Castle Doctrine' laws, which permit the use of deadly force in self-defense under certain circumstances. Mississippi does not require permits to purchase firearms, and residents are allowed to carry firearms openly without a permit. However, carrying a concealed weapon generally requires a permit. The state preempts local governments from enacting gun control laws that are more restrictive than state laws. While there is a national debate over the collective versus individual rights interpretation of the Second Amendment, Mississippi law currently supports the individual rights perspective.