Landmark Supreme Court Case · Right to bear arms
District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)
- Decided
- 2008
- Vote
- 5–4
- Opinion
- Justice Antonin Scalia
- Constitutional provisions
Facts of the case
Washington, D.C., effectively banned handgun possession in the home and required other firearms kept at home to be unloaded and disassembled or trigger-locked. Dick Heller, a special police officer licensed to carry a gun on duty, was denied a permit to keep a handgun at home and sued. Because D.C. is a federal district, not a state, the Second Amendment applied directly.
The constitutional question
Does the Second Amendment protect an individual's right to keep a handgun at home for self-defense, unconnected with militia service?
The decision
Yes. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. The District's handgun ban and trigger-lock requirement were unconstitutional.
The Court's reasoning
Scalia reasoned from the amendment's text and history that the prefatory clause about the militia does not limit the operative clause protecting "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms." The right is not unlimited. The opinion noted that longstanding laws, such as bans on possession by felons or in sensitive places, remain valid.
Why it matters
It was the first Supreme Court decision squarely recognizing an individual right to bear arms. It applied only to federal enclaves until McDonald v. Chicago (2010) extended it to the states. New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) extended the right to carrying handguns in public.