Case Brief: McDonald v. City of Chicago

McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) (the right of an individual to "keep and bear arms" protected by the 2nd Am. is incorporated by the DPC of the 14th Am. and applies to the states)

 

Background: 76 yr. old Chicago native wanted to buy a handgun to protect from repeated break-ins and decline of neighborhood’s safety taken over by drugs and gangs. Due to Chicago's then ban on handgun registrations after 1982, which required all handguns in the city to be registered, he was unable to do so.

 

Holding (Alito): the Due Process Clause of the 14^th Am. incorporates the 2d Am. right recognized in Heller  à He rejected Thomas's separate claim that the P or I Clause of the 14^th Am. more appropriately incorporates the 2d Am. against the states. Alito stated that the Ct's decision in the Slaughterhouse Cases -- rejecting the use of the Privileges or Immunities Clause for the purpose of incorporation -- was long since decided and the appropriate avenue for incorporating rights was through the Due Process Clause.