Second Amendment Applies to State and Local Gun Bans

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects a right to keep and bear arms.

The United States Supreme Court ruled today in McDonald v. Chicago, in a 5-to-4 decision, that the Second Amendment’s guarantee of an individual's right to bear arms applies to state and local gun control laws.

The decision, rendered by Justice Alito, warned that the court did not mean to cast doubt on laws prohibiting possession of guns by felons or the mentally ill, those forbidding carrying guns in sensitive places like schools and government buildings or those regulating the commercial sale of firearms. However, the the Second Amendment, like other provisions of the Bill of Rights guaranteeing fundamental rights, must be applied to the states under the 14th Amendment.

Scott Hughes is a criminal defense lawyer in Newport Beach, California practicing in State and Federal Court.