gun rights

plural noun

US politics

: legal rights that allow civilians to own, use, and sell guns

supporters of gun rights

—often used before another noun

gun rights advocates/groups

Note: The term gun rights often suggests support for an interpretation of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that favors broad rights to gun ownership.

Examples of gun rights in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the fall, the court, which has expanded gun rights, is expected to hear appeals challenging a ban in the Chicago area, which predates the statewide law. — ABC News, 9 July 2026

Such bans have been passed in response to mass shootings, but gun rights advocates argue that millions of Americans own AR-15s for self-defense. — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 1 July 2026

But the administration’s lawsuits and its recruitment of a legal team steeped in Second Amendment issues were welcomed by gun rights advocates. — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2026

Three years after John Roberts became chief justice, the court ruled for the first time in 2008 that the 2nd Amendment protected individual gun rights, not just state militias. — Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gun rights

• alights
• ascites
• barytes
• campsites
• chondrites
• daylights
• delights
• excites
• flashlights
• floodlights
• footlights
• graphites