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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Additionally, the court will hear cases on hot-button issues like gun rights and transgender athletes in women's sports. Matt Galka, Baltimore Sun, 5 Jan. 2026 VanDyke, writing for the majority, stated that California’s urban ban on open-carry permits does not stand under the Supreme Court’s landmark gun rights ruling New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2026 The National Association for Gun Rights, National Rifle Association (NRA), other gun rights groups and 26 Republican state attorneys general filed briefs urging the court to take up one or both of the cases. Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 12 Dec. 2025 Democrat Bill Clinton, who had signed an assault weapons ban into law, marked the honors for Charlton Heston, an actor and gun rights advocate. CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025 In one of the posts, Zuniga Sanchez cited the First Amendment, and in another cited the Second Amendment regarding gun rights, Minko said. City News Service, Oc Register, 3 Dec. 2025 The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a pair of key gun rights cases in the coming months, and other Second Amendment cases could make their way on the docket as the justices consider additional petitions for this term. Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2025 That case established a new Second Amendment test, holding that modern-day regulations regarding gun rights must have an analogous historical regulation. Solcyré Burga, Time, 27 Oct. 2025 In 2023, Kirk said at a public event that gun deaths amount to a worthwhile price paid for gun rights. Max Zahn, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gun rights was in 1964

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Cite this Entry

“Gun rights.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gun%20rights. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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