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 Wisconsin, 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 protects the personal right of individuals to own and carry firearms. Others support a collective rights approach, suggesting that the right to bear arms is linked to the service in a state militia and that governments can regulate firearm possession. The U.S. Supreme Court, in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), affirmed the individual rights interpretation, holding that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. Wisconsin state statutes reflect this interpretation, allowing for the possession and carry of firearms by individuals, subject to certain regulations. The state has laws governing the sale, possession, and use of firearms, including a concealed carry permit system. However, these regulations must not infringe upon the fundamental right to bear arms as protected by both the federal and state constitutions.