1689 : Protestants armed under the control of the law
= religious right

1789 : any citizen can be armed and form a militia
= individual right

no longer an individual right because not supported by public opinion
=> gun laws to restrict and ban the use of firearms

still a right to self-defence
supported and used by public opinion
=> no gun laws

“cruel and unusual punishment [shall not be] inflicted”

death penalty by hanging abolished in 1969 (suspended since 1965) because “cruel and unusual punishment”

death penalty allowed on a federal scale (4 year interruption 1972-76) and in use in 2/3 of the states