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 North Dakota, as in the rest of the United States, the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is the foundational legal provision that protects the right to keep and bear arms. The interpretation of the Second Amendment has been subject to debate, with some advocating for an individual rights approach, which asserts that the Amendment guarantees a personal right to firearm possession and use, and others supporting a collective rights approach, which suggests the right is linked to state militia service and allows for more extensive regulation of firearms. The U.S. Supreme Court, in decisions such as District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), has affirmed the individual rights interpretation, recognizing an individual's right to possess firearms for lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. North Dakota state statutes reflect this interpretation, providing protections for the right to bear arms while also allowing for certain regulations. The state has laws in place that regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms, but these laws are designed to be consistent with the Second Amendment protections as currently interpreted by the courts.