What does your state Constitution say?

[LibertyGal]

What does your state Constitution say about firearms? I'd be interested in hearing from as many states as possible. I'm looking for the actual wording as it is in your state Constitution, not a paraphrase.

Here is Pennsylvania:

Article I, Section 21
The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.

Additionally:
Article I, Section 25
To guard against transgressions of the high powers which we have delegated, we declare that everything in this article is excepted out of the general powers of government and shall forever remain inviolate.

LibertyGal

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Ride4TheBrand]

TEXAS

Article 1 - BILL OF RIGHTS
Section 23 - RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in the lawful defense of himself or the State; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime.

[mzmtg]

http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/conart1.htm

Georgia:

"Paragraph VIII. Arms, right to keep and bear. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, but the General Assembly shall have power to prescribe the manner in which arms may be borne."

Seems as though the second half contradicts the first, don't it?

[SubNine]

Alaska:

Article 1 - Declaration of Rights

19. Right to Keep and Bear Arms

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. The individual right to keep and bear arms shall not be denied or infringed by the State or a political subdivision of the State. [Amended 1994]

[Team American]

Colorado State Constitution (1876)

Article II

Sec. 13. The right of no person to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall be called in question; but nothing herein contained shall be construed to justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons.

[paramedic70002]

Virginia

Section 13. Militia; standing armies; military subordinate to civil power.
That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and
safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; that
standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should
be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.

[BCurry1]

Oklahoma State Constitution Article II, Section 26

The right of a citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person, or property, or in aid of the civil power, when thereunto legally summoned, shall never be prohibited; but nothing herein contained shall prevent the Legislature from regulating the carrying of weapons.

[RLS]

STATE OF DELAWARE CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I.

BILL OF RIGHTS


§20. Right to keep and bear arms.


Section 20. A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and State, and for hunting and recreational use. (4-16-87)

[falcon1]

Constitution of the State of Tennessee

Article I, Declaration of Rights:

Section 26. That the citizens of this state have a right to keep and to bear
arms for their common defense; but the Legislature shall have power, by law,
to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime.

[dr_cmg]

Constitution Of Alabama 1901
Article I Declaration of Rights.
Section 26 Right to bear arms.
That every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state.

[Captain Crunch]

Montana Constitution, Article II, Section 12, 1889, readopted in 1972:

"Right to bear arms. The right of any person to keep or bear arms in defense of his own home, person, and property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall not be called in question, but nothing herein contained shall be held to permit the carrying of concealed weapons."

[purple88yj]

North Carolina

Sec. 30. 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; and, as standing armies in time of
peace are dangerous to liberty, they shall not be maintain-
ed, and the military shall be kept under strict subordina-
tion to, and governed by, the civil power. Nothing herein
shall justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons, or
prevent the General Assembly from enacting statues against
that practice.

[WarHorse1961]

Nebraska

ARTICLE I: BILL OF RIGHTS
Sec. 1. All persons are by nature free and independent, and have certain inherent and inalienable rights; among these are life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the right to keep and bear arms for security or defense of self, family, home, and others, and for lawful common defense, hunting, recreational use, and all other lawful purposes, and such rights shall not be denied or infringed by the state or any subdivision thereof. To secure these rights, and the protection of property, governments are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. (Amended 1988.)

[Crimp]

Wild, Wonderful West Virginia:

Article 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.

[TonyW]

From the Ohio Bill of Rights:

§4 BEARING ARMS; STANDING ARMIES; MILITARY POWER.
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.