In 1982, the city of Chicago adopted a handgun ban in an attempt to combat crime and reduce handgun-related deaths and injuries. The law required individuals to register any handguns they owned, with a complex registration process and unregistered firearm possession being a criminal offense. As a result, most residents of Chicago were prohibited from owning handguns.
In 2008, after the Supreme Court's decision in Heller had established that the Second Amendment includes an individual right to keep and bear arms, Otis McDonald and other Chicago residents sued the city on the grounds that the handgun regulations violated their 14th Amendment rights. They argued that the 14th Amendment extends the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms to state and local governments.
The federal district court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals both ruled in favor of Chicago. The latter court specifically stated that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms only protects individuals from regulation by the federal government. McDonald then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Court agreed to hear the case.
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:
"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens… nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process…."
The Supreme Court addressed the question of whether the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms applies to state and local governments through the 14th Amendment and restricts Chicago's ability to regulate guns. The Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause allows the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms to be applied to the States by incorporation.
The Court viewed the case as a natural extension of the Heller decision. It noted that while the Bill of Rights was originally intended to apply only to the Federal Government, many of these rights have been incorporated into the States over time under the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause. When considering the history and tradition of the right to keep and bear arms, the Court found that self-defense was a central component of the Second Amendment.
The Court emphasized that this right is deeply rooted in the nation's history and, therefore, should be applicable to the States. While the Privileges or Immunities Clause was also considered, the Court did not base its decision on that clause and did not disturb the narrow reading of it in previous cases.
The Court's ruling in McDonald v Chicago was a significant development in important gun control Supreme Court cases. It established the precedent that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms applies to state and local governments through the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause. This decision had implications for the regulation of firearms beyond Chicago and influenced future debates and policies related to gun control and individual rights.
