How has the Supreme Court interpreted the Second Amendment to the US Constitution?
The Supreme Court has interpreted the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution in several ways. In 2008, the Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. The Court held that the Second Amendment “guarantee[s] the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.” Later, in 2010, the Supreme Court in McDonald v. City of Chicago extended this ruling to the states, holding that the Second Amendment applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. More recently, the Court has addressed the Second Amendment as it relates to the licensing of firearms and other restrictions. In particular, the Supreme Court has held that a state can impose restrictions on firearms so long as it does not “substantially burden a person’s Second Amendment right.” As the Court noted in Caetano v. Massachusetts, “reasonable regulations imposed by the state are generally permissible” so long as they do not substantially burden an individual’s right to possess a firearm under the Second Amendment. The Court also noted that it will examine the regulations to determine whether they are “reasonably adapted to a substantial governmental interest.”
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