Web Site: Guns: Second Amendment

What is it?

"The Second Amendment" refers to Amendment II of the United States Constitution. The first ten amendments to the Constitution are collectively known as "The Bill of Rights."

The Second Amendment, in full, reads:

"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."

Overview from Credo Reference (login required off-campus).

The link below will perform a catalog search for items in the Parkland Library.

United States v. Cruikshank - 92 U.S. 542 (1876)
"The Court ruled that the Second Amendment was not “incorporated,” meaning that it only applied to the federal government, not to state governments."
Presser v. Illinois - 116 U.S. 252 (1886)
"Confirmed the understanding that the right to bear arms came into play only in connection with the formation and conduct of the militia, as formed and regulated by the government."
United States v. Miller - 307 U.S. 174 (1939)
"The Court ruled that the federal government had the right, which it exercised in the 1934 National Firearms Act, to control the transfer of (and, in effect, to require the registration of) certain firearms."
United States v. Lopez - 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
The court "declared as unconstitutional the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, which made it a federal crime to have a gun within 1,000 feet of a school."
District of Columbia v. Heller - 554 U.S. 570 (2008)
The Court held that "the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home."
McDonald v. Chicago - 561 U.S. 3025 (2010)
The Court held that the Second Amendment right of an individual to "keep and bear arms" is incorporated by the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and applies to the states.