Many individuals and advocacy groups argue that the Second Amendment is a basic right of American citizenship and must be upheld, even when evil people misuse their right to own guns.

In a 2016 solution paper, the Heritage Foundation offers:

Although the Supreme Court has acknowledged the right of the government to impose reasonable regulations on the ownership and use of firearms, the federal government’s role must be limited and constrained by constitutional principles. Moreover, federal, state, and local governments have a constitutional obligation not to restrict Second Amendment rights unreasonably by making it unduly expensive or burdensome for ordinary Americans to purchase, own, carry, or use a firearm. Citizens have the right to defend themselves, their families, and their property.

Consider these facts and figures presented in the same paper:

• Armed citizens are less likely to be injured by an attacker, and the number of defensive gun uses may be as high as 2.1 million to 2.5 million times per year.
• The rate of mass killings, defined as four or more fatalities in a 24-hour period, peaked (on a per capita basis) in 1929, and there has not been any upward trend in the number of mass shooting incidents.
• According to the FBI, the total U.S. homicide rate has fallen by over half since 1980, and the gun homicide rate has fallen along with it.
• While gun ownership doubled in the late 20th century, Americans are safer today from violent crime, including gun homicide, than they have been at any time since the mid-1960s.
• In localities where right-to-carry laws have been enacted, communities have seen a decline in murder rates and instances of other violent crimes.
• The number of unintentional deaths due to firearm-related incidents accounted for less than 1 percent of all unintentional fatalities in 2010.
• Firearms-related death rates for youths age 15–19 declined from 1994 to 2009.
• The vast majority of gun-related deaths are suicides, not homicides.
• Gun buyback/turn-in programs are ineffective at reducing crime, and there is no evidence that so-called assault weapons bans or gun-free zones reduce gun-related violence.

The American Opinion Foundation presents a more lengthy discussion of this position in its video “Defending Liberty – The 2nd Amendment Today.”